Dynamic limiting of vehicle operation based on interior configurations

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for controlling operation of a vehicle. An example system for controlling operation of a vehicle includes one or more data collection components and one or more processors. The one or more data collection components are configured to collect data representative of a physical configuration of an interior vehicle component. The one or more processors are configured to access the collected data, determine, by processing the collected data, the physical configuration of the interior vehicle component, select a manner of operation based upon the determined physical configuration of the interior vehicle component, and cause the vehicle to operate according to the manner of operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/034,878, which was filed on Jul. 13, 2018, and which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to vehicle safety. Moreparticularly, the present invention disclosure relates to systems andmethods for selecting, modifying, and controlling one or more vehiclesafety components of a vehicle, in response to an interior vehicleconfiguration of the vehicle, for the purpose of improving vehicleoccupant safety and reducing injury risk.

BACKGROUND

The interior configuration and layout of a vehicle has changed onlyincrementally since the invention of automobiles over a century ago.Conventional interior vehicle configurations were adapted so that ahuman could effectively and safely, and manually, operate a vehicle.Accordingly, existing interior vehicle configurations are confined tocertain layouts to accommodate these requirements. For instance, spacein the vehicle must be devoted to the steering wheel, brake,accelerator, and gear shifter, and the driver must be positioned toaccessibly operate this equipment while having a clear view of the roadand traffic in all directions. Additionally, user interface controlpanels must also be arranged to conform to this layout. In existingvehicles, a vehicle operator has no way to adjust his/her physicalposition without abandoning the vehicle controls, thereby increasing thelikelihood of an accident. Therefore, a driver and/or passenger isseemingly limited to a certain position regardless of driving conditionsand/or the vehicle's actions, which in turn can place detrimental forceand strain on the vehicle driver and/or passenger's body.

Existing vehicle safety technology has been limited in form and/orfunction in order to also conform to existing configurations. Each yearmillions of individuals are injured as a result of vehicular accidentsemanating from operator error, inattention, inexperience, misuse, ordistraction; inclement weather conditions; treacherous road conditions;and other driving environment conditions. While existing vehicle safetytechnologies have improved vehicle driver and passenger safety, many ofthese technologies, such as airbags, do not deploy until after a vehiclehas already been involved in a collision. Similarly, other existingvehicle safety technologies, such as seatbelts, can only perform asingle function and provide limited or no benefit in certain situations.In some instances, the existing safety technology installed in a vehiclecan cause more harm than it prevents because of the specific type ofaccident and/or the physical attributes of the vehicle's passenger. Apassenger's specific body position during a collision can affect howhis/her body is impacted by the collision, and just a few inches ordegrees of difference in body positioning can be the difference betweena passenger walking away from a collision alive and unscathed, asopposed to life-altering injuries or death. However, given thenear-instantaneous nature of most accidents, it is almost impossible fora driver or passenger to brace for impact or make changes to his/herposition to reduce a risk of injury. Even if a passenger was somehowable to foresee an impending accident, his/her physical movement wouldbe limited due to the existing and confined standard interior vehicleconfigurations. Additionally, it would often be impossible for a humanpassenger to determine, especially in an instant, what precise movementsneeded to be made to avoid/reduce injury, make such movements, and/orverify such movements had been accurately taken.

Additionally, these configurations limit which type of safety devicesare used in current vehicles. In current vehicles, for examples,seatbelts are only provided for specific designated locations andorientations within the vehicle. This requires that passengers sit in aspecific physical configuration in order to maximize safety.Consequently, this limits what actions a passenger can undertake whiletraveling in a vehicle, and in some cases prevents a passenger fromusing time spent in a vehicle more productively. For example, long,cross-country trips must be spent sitting in tight, uncomfortableconditions. Meanwhile, to sleep more comfortably while traveling in acar, for example, a passenger must often adjust his/her body to aposition that compromises safety, by being in a position that is notadequately covered by an airbag and/or in which a seatbelt is lesseffective. Further, in the event an accident does occur, current vehiclesafety devices (e.g., airbags) can only deploy in one predeterminedmanner, often only marginally reducing the risk of injury to apassenger, or in some instances even injuring the passenger because ofthe manner in which the airbag was deployed.

While some activities, such as reading or working on a computer, can besafely performed while traveling in a vehicle, engaging in such behaviorcan still be difficult or undesirable, especially for long periods oftime, as a result of vehicle operation conditions such as the speed atwhich the vehicle is traveling, traffic conditions (e.g., “stop and go”traffic), road conditions (e.g., uneven surfaces, pot holes, etc.),terrain conditions (e.g., steep roads, winding roads, etc.) and/or otherdriving conditions. Further, passengers who attempt to eat and/or drinkwhile riding in a vehicle risk choking if certain sudden/unexpectedmaneuvers are attempted, as well as the less serious consequence ofspilling their food/drinks. Thus, traveling by way of current vehiclescan be tremendously time consuming, stressful, dangerous, and/orinefficient as a result of the physical configuration. In turn, this canincrease the cost of travel both monetarily and in opportunity cost.Vehicle operators and passengers may need to take breaks to rest, sleep,eat, and/or use the restroom, and a passenger is very limited in termsof the activities that can be performed while the vehicle is operating.

The physical configuration of current vehicles also effects how cargo istransported. Most current vehicles merely provide large, open areas,such as trunk space, for individuals to store articles in whiletraveling. This requires that an individual take safety precautions toprevent an article from moving around, spilling, cracking, spoiling, orbreaking while being transported. For example, an individual may need toprotect a fragile glass object in multiple layers of bubble wrap, and/or“wedge” the glass object into a constrained space, to prevent the glassobject from shattering while being transported. Conversely, whentransporting perishable goods, such as groceries, an individual musttake precautions, like taking the groceries home immediately instead ofrunning other errands, to prevent the groceries fromspoiling/melting/etc. However, even when such precautions are taken,transportable articles still may be damaged during transport because ofunforeseen circumstances and conditions. Ultimately, this can causedifficulties, inconveniences, and/or inefficiencies in regards totransporting articles.

It is also noted that the increase in autonomous and semi-autonomousvehicles has decreased the need for vehicles to be operated by humans.Autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles augment vehicle operators'information or replace vehicle operators' actions to operate thevehicle, in whole or part, with computer systems based upon informationcollected by equipment within, or attached to, the vehicle.Consequently, there is a decreased need for vehicles to be confined tofeatures and configurations (e.g., the interior layout) that arespecifically designed to accommodate human operation.

SUMMARY

The present application disclosure provides a system and method forcontrolling operation of a vehicle.

In one embodiment, a system for controlling operation of a vehicleincludes one or more data collection components and one or moreprocessors. The one or more data collection components are configured tocollect data representative of a physical configuration of an interiorvehicle component. The one or more processors are configured to accessthe collected data, determine, by processing the collected data, thephysical configuration of the interior vehicle component, select amanner of operation based upon the determined physical configuration ofthe interior vehicle component, and cause the vehicle to operateaccording to the manner of operation.

In one embodiment, a method for controlling operation of a vehicleincludes: accessing, by one or more processors, data that isrepresentative of a physical configuration of an interior vehiclecomponent of a vehicle; determining, by processing the data using theone or more processors, the physical configuration of the interiorvehicle component; selecting, by the one or more processors, a manner ofoperation for the vehicle based upon the determined physicalconfiguration of the interior vehicle component; and causing the vehicleto operate according to the selected manner of operation.

In one embodiment, a system for controlling operation of a vehicleincludes one or more data collection components and one or moreprocessors. The one or more data collection components are configured tocollect data representative of a physical configuration of an interiorvehicle component. The one or more processors are configured to accessthe collected data, determine, by processing the collected data, thephysical configuration of the interior vehicle component, and inresponse to detecting the physical configuration, restrict the vehiclefrom taking a specific action.

In one embodiment, a system for controlling operation of a vehicleincludes an interior data collection component and a vehicle operationcontroller. The system also includes one or more processors configuredto receive interior vehicle configuration data. The interior vehicleconfiguration data includes, or is derived from data that includes, thedata collected by the interior data collection component. The one ormore processors are also configured to determine, by processing theinterior vehicle configuration data, an interior vehicle configurationof the vehicle, and cause the vehicle operation controller to cause thevehicle to take a specific action based on the interior vehicleconfiguration.

In one embodiment, a method for controlling operation of a vehiclecomprises receiving, via one or more processors, interior vehicleconfiguration data; detecting, via the one or more processors, aninterior vehicle configuration; and causing, via a vehicle operationcontroller, the vehicle to take a specific action in response to the oneor more processors detecting the interior vehicle configuration.

In one embodiment, a system for controlling operation of a vehicleincludes an interior data collection component and a vehicle operationcontroller. The system also includes one or more processors configuredto receive interior vehicle configuration data. The interior vehicleconfiguration data includes, or is derived from data that includes, thedata collected by the interior data collection component. The one ormore processors are also configured to determine, by processing theinterior vehicle configuration data, an interior vehicle configurationof the vehicle, and cause the vehicle operation controller to restrictthe vehicle from taking a specific action based on the interior vehicleconfiguration.

Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description of the preferred embodiments which have beenshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thepresent embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments,and their details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A depicts a block diagram of a first embodiment of a system forimproving the safety of one or more vehicle occupants, dynamicallyprotecting one or more transportable articles, and/or controllingoperation of a vehicle.

FIG. 1B depicts a detailed block diagram of a vehicle computer that maybe used in the system of FIGS. 1A and/or 1C.

FIG. 1C depicts a block diagram of a second embodiment of a system forimproving the safety of one or more vehicle occupants, dynamicallyprotecting one or more transportable articles, and/or controllingoperation of a vehicle.

FIG. 2A illustrates a first embodiment and scenario in which one or morevehicle safety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2B illustrates a second embodiment and scenario in which one ormore vehicle safety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2C illustrates a third embodiment and scenario in which one or morevehicle safety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2D illustrates a fourth embodiment and scenario in which one ormore vehicle safety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2E.1 illustrates a fifth embodiment in which one or more vehiclesafety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2E.2 illustrates a sixth embodiment in which one or more vehiclesafety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2E.3 illustrates a seventh embodiment in which one or more vehiclesafety components may be deployed.

FIG. 2F illustrates an embodiment and scenario in which one or morevehicle safety components of different types may be selected anddeployed.

FIG. 2G illustrates a first embodiment in which a vehicle safetycomponent may be adjusted from a first physical configuration to asecond physical configuration.

FIG. 2H illustrates an embodiment and scenario in which an articleprotection component may be deployed to protect one or moretransportable articles.

FIG. 2I illustrates an embodiment and scenario in which one or morearticle protection components of different types may be selected anddeployed to protect one or more transportable articles.

FIG. 3A illustrates a method in which one or more vehicle safetycomponents are selected, based on a location and/or orientation of oneor more vehicle occupants, and deployed based on an emergency condition.

FIG. 3B illustrates a method in which the physical configuration of avehicle safety component is adjusted based on the location and/ororientation of one or more vehicle occupants, and deployed.

FIG. 4A illustrates a method in which one or more article protectioncomponents are selected, based on one or more characteristic(s) and/ortrait(s) of one or more transportable articles, and deployed to protectthe one or more transportable articles.

FIG. 4B illustrates a method in which an article protection component isadjusted based on an emergency condition.

FIG. 4C illustrates a method in which a vehicle operation controllermodifies the manner in which a vehicle takes a specific action based onone or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of one or moretransportable articles.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method in which a vehicle operation controllermodifies the manner in which a vehicle takes a specific action based ona physical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments described herein relate to, inter alia, systems andmethods for controlling operation of a vehicle.

FIG. 1A depicts a block diagram of a first embodiment of a system 100for improving the safety of one or more vehicle occupants, dynamicallyprotecting one or more transportable articles, and/or controllingoperation of a vehicle. The system 100 includes a vehicle 102,vehicle-based components 110, and one or more objects external to thevehicle 199 (hereinafter “external object 199”). The vehicle-basedcomponents 110 may include an external communication component 112, avehicle computer 200, an interior data collection component 120, a VSCactuator component 130, an APC actuator component 135, an interiorvehicle component 140, a vehicle operation controller 150, a vehiclesafety component 160, an article protection component 165, and atransportable article 170. In operation, data relating to a vehicle'sinterior space is collected and transmitted to the vehicle computer 200.The vehicle computer 200 analyzes this data to detect a physicalconfiguration of the interior space of the vehicle 102, and/or otherdata corresponding to a location and/or orientation of one or morevehicle occupants, and/or one or more characteristics(s) and/or traitsof one or more transportable articles 170 contained within the interiorspace. Based on this data, the vehicle computer 200 may determine whichvehicle safety component(s) 160 and/or article protection component(s)165 to deploy in response to the vehicle computer 200 detecting anemergency condition, determine a manner in which to deploy the vehiclesafety component(s) 160 and/or article protection component(s) 165,and/or cause the vehicle operation controller 150 to control the vehicle102 in a specific manner. Additionally, data relating to the surroundingenvironment and/or operation of the vehicle 102 is collected andtransmitted to the vehicle computer 200. When the vehicle computer 200detects the emergency condition and/or the specific action, the vehiclecomputer 200 may cause the VSC actuator component 130 to deploy one ormore of the vehicle safety component(s) 160 to reduce the risk of injuryto one or more vehicle occupants and/or may cause the APC actuatorcomponent 135 to deploy one or more of the article protectioncomponent(s) 165 to reduce the risk of damage to the one or moretransportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102.

It should be appreciated that the term VSC is an abbreviation for theterm Vehicle Safety Component,” and the term APC is an abbreviation forthe term “Article Protection Component. It should also be appreciatedthat the designation “VSC actuator component 130” may refer to the sameor a similar type of VSC actuator component as a VSC actuator componentwith designation “130.x” (e.g., VSC actuator component 130.1, 130.2,etc.). It should further be appreciated that the designation “APCactuator component 160” may refer to the same or a similar type of APCactuator component as an APC actuator component with designation “160.x”(e.g., APC actuator component 160.1, 160.2, etc.).

Although the system 100 is shown in FIG. 1A to include one vehicle 102,one external communication component 112, one interior data collectioncomponent 120, one VSC actuator component 130, one APC actuatorcomponent 135, one interior vehicle component 140, one vehicle operationcontroller 150, one vehicle safety component 160, one article protectioncomponent 165, one transportable article 170, one adjacent object 199,and one vehicle computer 200, it should be understood that differentquantities of each may be utilized or present (e.g., see system 101depicted in FIG. 1C). For example, the system 100 may include aplurality of external communication components 112, all of which may becoupled to the vehicle 102 and in communication with the vehiclecomputer 200. Additionally, some embodiments of the present inventionmay include a plurality of VSC actuator components 130/APC actuatorcomponents 135 and vehicle safety components 160/article protectcomponents 165, and the processor 202 may select a subset of theplurality of vehicle safety components 160/article protection components165 to deploy based on data collected corresponding to the interiorspace (e.g., contents and/or physical configuration) of the vehicle 102.Furthermore, the storage or processing performed by the vehicle 200 maybe distributed among a plurality of computers comprising a network.

The vehicle 102 may be an automobile, bus, motorcycle, boat, airplane,train, helicopter, tractor, jet ski, forklift, or other machine employedby a user to travel or transport articles, and may be an autonomousvehicle, a semi-autonomous vehicle, or a fully manual vehicle.

The transportable article 170 is a tangible object/item that may bephysically transported by the vehicle 102. The transportable article 170may be stored in the interior space of the vehicle 102 such as in astorage console, compartment, trunk, and/or other space. In someembodiments, the transportable article 170 may be an item that happensto be present in the vehicle at a particular time (e.g., because avehicle occupant carried the item onto the vehicle 102). In someembodiments, the transportable article 170 may be affixed to an exteriorportion of the vehicle 102 (e.g., the roof, back, and/or undercarriage)for transportation. Examples of the transportable article 170 include,but are not limited to, food, liquids, boxes, packages, clothes,furniture, athletic equipment, electronics, medical supplies, glassware,artwork, sculptures, chemicals, biological specimens, explosivematerials, and/or any other tangible item. It should be appreciated thatin some embodiments, a plurality of transportable articles 170 may betransported by the vehicle 102. In some embodiments the vehicle 102 maytransport multiple of one type of transportable article 170. Conversely,in some embodiments, the vehicle 102 may transport a variety ofdifferent types and/or sizes of transportable articles 170. In someembodiments, the transportable article 170 may need to be transportedunder specific conditions (or within a range of specific conditions)including, but not limited to, temperature, moisture level, lightexposure, chemical element exposure, and/or another physical conditionto keep the transportable article fresh, unaltered, and/or safe. Forexample, in embodiments in which the transportable article is perishablefood, the food may need to be kept at a cold temperature to ensure thatthe food remains safe to be consumed.

Referring now back to FIG. 1A, the interior data collection component120 is configured to collect data corresponding to the interior space ofthe vehicle 102 (including a physical configuration of the interiorspace of the vehicle, one or more vehicle occupants within the vehicle102, and one or more transportable articles 170 within the vehicle), andtransmit the collected data to the vehicle computer 200. For example,the interior data collection component 120 may be configured to collectdata representing the physical configuration of the interior space ofthe vehicle 102, or a component of the vehicle 102 (e.g., the locationand/or orientation of an interior vehicle component 140); the presenceof one or more vehicle occupants in the vehicle 102; the location and/ororientation of the one or more vehicle occupants (e.g., relative to aninterior vehicle component 140), the presence of one or moretransportable articles 170 in the vehicle 102, and/or one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportablearticles 170.

The interior data collection component 120 may also be configured tocollect data indicative of the one or more vehicle occupants' physicalcharacteristics, biometric traits, pre-existing health conditions,and/or any other physiological conditions. The interior data collectioncomponent 120 may include one or more sensors, such as an occupancysensor, a motion sensor, a thermometer, a weight sensor, a pressuresensor, a biometric sensor, a camera, a microphone, and/or any otherdevice equipped to collect data relating to any other measurable eventor physical phenomenon within the vehicle 102. The interior datacollection component 120 may comprise multiple components. The interiordata collection component 120 may include a clock configured totime-stamp the date and time that data is collected by the interior datacollection component 120. The interior data collection component 120 maybe removably or fixedly installed within the vehicle 102 and may bedisposed in various arrangements to collect, for example, interiorvehicle configuration data, vehicle occupant data, transportable articledata, and/or interior vehicle environment data. The interior datacollection component 120 may be a mobile device, conducting electrode,and/or wearable device affixed to one or more vehicle occupants and/orone or more transportable articles in the vehicle 102. The interior datacollection component 120 may be housed within, under, above, and/or onan interior vehicle component 140, the vehicle safety component 160, thearticle protection component 165, and/or another component of thevehicle 102, for example. The interior data collection component 120 maybe in hardwired and/or wireless communication with the vehicle computer200. The interior data collection component 120 may be designed tooperate according to predetermined specifications, such as a dedicatedshort-range communication (DSRC) channel, wireless telephony, Wi-Fi, orother existing or later-developed communications protocols.

The external communication component 112 is configured to collectdriving environment data representative of an external environment ofthe vehicle 102. An external environment is the physical environmentand/or space outside of the vehicle 102. The external communicationcomponent 112 may be affixed on, to, and/or in the vehicle 102. Theexternal communication component 112 may include one or more oftransceivers, GPS units, sensors (e.g., a radar unit, LIDAR unit, motionsensor, ultrasonic sensor, infrared sensor, inductance sensor, camera,microphone, etc.), and/or any other suitable piece(s) of equipmentconfigured to collect data representative of the external environment tothe vehicle 102. In some embodiments where the external communicationcomponent 112 includes a transceiver, driving environment data may bereceived using wireless communication technology, such as Bluetooth,Wi-Fi, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), or other existing orlater-developed communications protocols. For those embodiments in whichthe external communication component 112 includes a sensor, the externalcommunication component 112 may actively or passively scan the externalenvironment of the vehicle for one or more external objects 199.

In some embodiments the external communication component 112 is amicrophone configured to recognize external audio input, commands,and/or sounds of windows breaking, air bags deploying, tires skidding,conversations or voices of other drivers and/or pedestrians, music,rain, snow, or wind noise, and/or other sounds heard external to thevehicle 102 that would enable the processor 202 to detect an emergencycondition.

Examples of the external object 199 include, but are not limited to, oneor more other vehicles, buildings, pedestrians, roadways, overpasses,curbs, guardrails, concrete barriers, lane markings, traffic signs,shrubbery, structures, animals, and/or any other physical element thatcould come into physical contact with the vehicle 102 and be involved inan accident/crash/collision. In some embodiments, the externalcommunication component 112 may collect data for determining thelocation, orientation, movement, speed, route, destination, and/ortrajectory of external object 199. The external communication component112 may also be configured to collect, receive, transmit, and/orgenerate data relating to current, future, and/or past drivingconditions, weather conditions, traffic conditions, road integrity,terrain conditions, construction, past/typical driving behavior of anadjacent vehicle, the external object 199, and/or the environmentexternal to the vehicle 102. Data collected, received, or generated bythe external communication component 112 may be transmitted to thevehicle computer 200, or a component of the vehicle computer 200.

In some embodiments, the external communication component 112 mayinclude a transceiver configured to receive third party drivingenvironment data from the external object 199, a server, a network, aninfrastructure component, and/or another source. The infrastructurecomponents may include smart infrastructure or devices (e.g., sensors,transmitters, etc.) disposed within or communicatively connected tobuildings, transportation or other infrastructure, such as roads,bridges, viaducts, terminals, stations, fueling stations, trafficcontrol devices (e.g., traffic lights, toll booths, entry ramp trafficregulators, crossing gates, speed radar, cameras, etc.), bicycle docks,footpaths, or other infrastructure system components. Examples of othersources that may transmit driving environment data to the externalcommunication component 112 include mobile devices (e.g. smart phones,cell phones, lap tops, tablets, phablets, PDAs (Personal DigitalAssistants), computers, smart watches, pagers, hand-held mobile orportable computing devices, smart glasses, smart electronic devices,wearable devices, smart contact lenses, and/or other computing devices);smart vehicles; dash or vehicle mounted systems or original telematicsdevices; buildings; pedestrians; public transportation systems; smartstreet signs or traffic lights; smart infrastructure, roads, or highwaysystems (including smart intersections, exit ramps, and/or toll booths);smart trains, buses, or planes (including those equipped with Wi-Fi orhotspot functionality); smart train or bus stations; internet sites;aerial, drone, or satellite images; third party systems or data; nodes,relays, and/or other devices capable of wireless RF (Radio Frequency)communications; and/or other devices or systems that capture image,audio, or other data and/or are configured for wired or wirelesscommunication. In some embodiments, the driving environment datacollected may be derived from police or fire departments, hospitals,and/or emergency responder communications; police reports; municipalityinformation; automated Freedom of Information Act requests; and/or otherdata collected from government agencies and officials.

In some embodiments, if a driver has expressly agreed to participate ina program involving data collection/sharing, the external communicationcomponent 112 may also transmit the collected driving environment datato a third party receiver, database, server, infrastructure component,and/or network. In some embodiments, the collected driving environmentdata may be used to adjust, generate, and/or update an insurance policy,premium, rate, discount, and/or reward for the specific driver,passenger, and/or the insured individual. The external communicationcomponent 112 may be originally installed by a manufacturer of thevehicle 102, or installed as an aftermarket modification or addition tothe vehicle 102.

The external communication component 112 may include a clock configuredto time-stamp the date and time that driving environment data iscollected by the external communication component 112.

The actions and/or performance of the vehicle 102 may be dictated basedon data corresponding to the physical configuration of the interiorspace of the vehicle 102, one or more vehicle occupants within thevehicle 102 (e.g., the one or more vehicle occupants' presence, locationand/or orientation within the vehicle 102), one or more transportablearticles 170 within the vehicle 102, and/or behavior/actions of the oneor more vehicle occupants. It should be appreciated that the one or morevehicle occupants may be one or more human beings and/or non-humananimals (e.g., dog, cat, horse, hamster, goat, lamb, pig, turtle, fish,frog, alligator, bird, etc.). For such embodiments, vehicle operationdata, corresponding to the vehicle 102 and/or its performance, isgenerated by the vehicle operation controller 150. Examples of vehicleoperation data include, but are not limited to, data corresponding tothe speed, location, and/or any other performance related parameter ofthe vehicle 102 and/or one of its components or subsystems. Vehicleoperation data may be derived from or otherwise indicative of thevehicle control data, which may be generated by the vehicle operationcontroller 150 and/or one of its subsystems.

The vehicle operation controller 150 is configured to control theoperation of the vehicle 102 and its components, and also, in someembodiments, to generate data corresponding to that operation for use byand/or based on the vehicle computer 200. In some embodiments, thevehicle operation controller 150 may be an autonomous vehicle controllerthat executes driving decisions, or a system that controls theoperations of the vehicle 102 based on manual inputs from a driver(e.g., turning a steering wheel, depressing the gas pedal, etc.). Ineither embodiment, the vehicle operation controller 150 may control theoperation of the vehicle 102 based at least in part on data representinga detected physical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle102, data representing one or more vehicle occupants, and/or datarepresenting one or more transportable articles 170 within the vehicle102. The vehicle operation controller 150 may include hardware, firmwareand/or software subsystems that control (and possibly monitor) thevarious operational parameters of the vehicle 102. The vehicle operationcontroller 150 may be configured to generate and transmit vehiclecontrol data, indicative of the driving decision, to operate the vehicle102 or one of its subsystems. For example, the vehicle operationcontroller 150 may transmit vehicle control data to a braking subsystemto control how the brakes of vehicle 102 are applied (e.g., an absoluteor relative measure of applied braking force, or a binary indicator ofwhether the brakes are being applied at all, etc.), a speed subsystem tocontrol how fast the vehicle 102 is being driven (e.g., corresponding toa speedometer reading, an accelerometer measurement, and/or a driverinput such as depression of a gas pedal, etc.), and/or a steeringsubsystem to control how the vehicle 102 is being steered (e.g., basedupon the driver's manipulation of a steering wheel, or based uponautomated steering control data, etc.). The vehicle operation controller150 may also include a diagnostics subsystem that generates otherinformation pertaining to the operation of vehicle 102, such aswarning/alert information to indicate that one or more components ofvehicle 102 is/are in need of replacement, an upgrade, and/or servicing.

In some embodiments, the vehicle operation controller 150 transmits thevehicle operation data (e.g., the raw vehicle control data discussedabove, or other data indicative of the vehicle control data) to thevehicle computer 200 in furtherance of the vehicle computer detectingwhether the vehicle 102 has taken a specific action. For example, toapply the brakes, the vehicle operation controller 150 may generate acommand to apply the brakes, and transmit this command not only to abraking subsystem but also to the vehicle computer 200. As anotherexample, the vehicle operation controller 150 may generate a command toapply the brakes, and also generate a message, for the vehicle computer200, indicating that such a command was sent to the braking subsystem.In either embodiment, the vehicle computer 200 may then process thecommand or message to determine whether the vehicle 102 has taken aspecific action. The vehicle operation controller 150 may be designed totransmit data to and/or receive data from the vehicle computer 200according to predetermined specifications, such as a dedicatedshort-range communication (DSRC) channel, wireless telephony, Wi-Fi, orother existing or later-developed communications protocols.

In other embodiments, a sensing component (such as an accelerometer,tachometer, speedometer, etc.) may generate vehicle operation data basedon the sensed operation of the vehicle 102. In such embodiments, thesesensors (or related systems) may transmit the vehicle operation data tothe vehicle computer 200. In embodiments utilizing a sensing component,the sensing component may be part of the vehicle operation controller150, a different component of vehicle-based component 110, and/or aseparate device (such as a mobile phone) in wired or wirelesscommunication with the vehicle computer 200. The vehicle operation datamay include raw sensor data and/or may be preprocessed by the sensingcomponent (or another component) prior to being received as vehicleoperation data by the vehicle computer 200. For example, the sensingcomponent may generate vehicle operation data by sensing the positive,negative, and/or lateral acceleration of the vehicle 102, or by sensingthe rate at which the wheels are rotating, etc.

FIG. 1B depicts a detailed block diagram of the vehicle computer 200,according to one embodiment. The vehicle computer 200 is configured toreceive, transmit, process, analyze, and/or detect data relating to thevehicle 102, the physical configuration of the interior vehicleenvironment (i.e., the interior space of the vehicle) of the vehicle102, the environment external to the vehicle 102, one or more vehicleoccupants of the vehicle 102, and/or one or more transportable articles170 within the vehicle 102. The vehicle computer 200 may be configuredto monitor/control various features, functions, and components of thevehicle 102. The vehicle computer 200 may comprise one or moreprocessors 202, a transceiver 204, an emergency condition detectionmodule 210, a vehicle action detection module 220, an actuator controlmodule 230, an interior vehicle configuration detection module 240, anda transportable article detection module 250. The vehicle computer 200may be originally installed by a manufacturer of the vehicle 102, orinstalled as an aftermarket modification or addition to the vehicle 102.The vehicle computer 200 may be configured to be in communication withthe external communication component 112, the interior data collectioncomponent 120, the VSC actuator component 130 (or a plurality of VSCactuator components), the APC component 135 (or a plurality of APCactuator components), the interior vehicle component 140, the vehicleoperation controller 150, the vehicle safety component 160 (or aplurality of vehicle safety components), and/or the article protectioncomponent 165 (or a plurality of article protection components) of FIGS.1A and 10 . The transceiver 204 is configured to receive and transmitdata, and may be designed to send and receive information/data accordingto predetermined specifications, such as a dedicated short-rangecommunication (DSRC) channel, wireless telephony, Wi-Fi, or otherexisting or later-developed communications protocols. The vehiclecomputer 200 may include a user interface for one or more vehicleoccupants to view, enter, and/or select information pertaining tohis/herself, another vehicle occupant, the vehicle 102, the interiorconfiguration of the vehicle 102, one or more transportable articles 170in the vehicle 102, and/or the environment external to vehicle 102.

The vehicle computer 200 may further include a number of softwareapplications stored in in the program memory of the emergency conditiondetection module 210, the vehicle action detection module 220, theactuator control module 230, the interior vehicle configurationdetection module 240, and/or the transportable article detection module250. In some embodiments the aforementioned modules may all be stored assoftware modules within the same program memory. The various softwareapplications on the vehicle computer 200 may include specific programs,routines, or scripts for performing processing functions associated withthe methods and functions described herein. While a plurality of modulesmay be described herein, it should be appreciated that in someembodiments the vehicle computer 200 may include only a subset of thesespecific modules. Additionally, the various software applications on thevehicle computer 200 may include general-purpose software applicationsfor data processing, database management, data analysis, networkcommunication, web server operation, or other functions described hereinor typically performed by a server. The various software applicationsmay be executed on the same processor 202 or on different processors.Additionally, or alternatively, the software applications may interactwith various hardware modules that may be installed within or connectedto the vehicle 200. Such modules may implement part of all of thevarious exemplary methods discussed herein or other related embodiments.The memory units discussed herein may include one or more types ofmemory, including volatile memory (e.g., DRAM, SRAM, etc.), non-volatilememory (ROM, EEPROM, etc.), and/or secondary storage (e.g., hard drive,solid state, etc.).

The emergency condition detection module 210 is configured to receive,store, and analyze data to determine whether an emergency condition hasbeen detected. Examples of an emergency condition which the processor202 may be configured to detect include, but are not limited to, animpending automobile accident, a nearby automobile accident thatinvolves one or more other vehicles and has already occurred, a weathercondition, a traffic condition, a road integrity condition, a terraincondition, road construction, a fire (within the vehicle and/or externalto the vehicle), existence of a harmful substance within the vehicle, avehicle emission condition, an interior vehicle condition, and/or anyother condition that may pose a risk to, or change the nature of therisk to, the operation of the vehicle 102, the safety of one or morevehicle occupants riding in the vehicle 102, and/or the safety of one ormore transportable articles 170 in the vehicle 102. The emergencycondition detection module 210 may include a driving environment datastorage 212, an emergency condition detection program memory 214, and anemergency condition detection criteria data storage 216. The drivingenvironment data storage 212 is configured to store the drivingenvironment data received, via the transceiver 204, from the externalcommunication component 112. The emergency condition detection programmemory 214 stores program instructions for detecting one or moreemergency conditions based on the driving environment data collected bythe external communication component 112. The emergency conditiondetection program may comprise one or more algorithms, machine learningtechniques, data comparison, and/or other techniques for detecting anemergency condition based on the driving environment data. In someembodiments, an emergency condition may be detected based on criteriadata stored in the emergency condition detection criteria data storage216, indicative of a threshold and/or other criteria defining when aparticular emergency condition exists.

Examples of a weather condition which the processor 202 may beconfigured to detect include, but are not limited to, rain, snow, hail,sleet, ice, fog, clouds, wind, and/or excess sun. Examples of a trafficcondition which the processor 202 may be configured to detect includeheavy traffic, vehicle congestion levels, bumper-to-bumper traffic, anaccident, a traffic sign (such as a stop sign), presence of pedestrians,pedestrian congestion levels, a traffic light and its current condition(e.g. green, yellow, or red), a closed street, a speed limit, anintersection, a tight turn, and/or any other detectable driving relatedcondition. Examples of a road integrity condition which the processor202 may be configured to detect include, but are not limited to, apothole, unpaved road, speed control device, road slipperiness, roadfirmness, and/or any other detectable condition related to the physicalcondition of a road. Examples of a terrain condition which the processor202 may be configured to detect include, but are not limited to, roadslope, rolling hills, mountains, desert terrain, beach terrain, citydriving conditions, rural driving conditions, a winding road, lanewidth, and/or any other detectable conditions that may affect operationof the vehicle 102 on a road.

In analyzing the driving environment data to detect an emergencycondition, the processor 202 may analyze historical accident informationand/or test data involving vehicles having autonomous or semi-autonomousfunctionality. Factors that may be analyzed and/or accounted for by theprocessor 202 may include, but are not limited to, points of impact,vehicle type/style, vehicle behavior, vehicle speed, type of road, timeof day, type/length of trip, level of pedestrian traffic, level ofvehicle congestion, and/or other factors that could affect thelikelihood of a crash. The processor 202 may weigh certain factorsaccording to historical accident information, predicted accidents,vehicle trends, test data, and/or other considerations.

The vehicle action detection module 220 is configured to receive andanalyze vehicle operation data (e.g., vehicle control data, or otherdata indicative of the vehicle control data) from the vehicle operationcontroller 150, and/or or another component of the vehicle 102 (e.g.,one or more sensors of the vehicle 102), in order to determine whetherthe vehicle 102 has taken a specific action. Examples of a specificaction which the processor 202 may be configured to detect include, butare not limited to, the vehicle 102 accelerating, decelerating, turning,braking, changing lanes, merging, moving in reverse, and/or any otherphysical movement by the vehicle 102, any of its systems, and/or any ofits components. The vehicle action detection module 220 may include avehicle operation data storage 222, a vehicle action detection programmemory 224, and a vehicle action detection criteria memory 226. Thevehicle operation data storage 222 may store vehicle operation datareceived from the vehicle operation controller 150 and/or one or morevehicle sensors. The vehicle detection program memory 224 may beconfigured to store program instructions for detecting the specificaction based on the vehicle operation data.

The interior vehicle configuration detection module 240 is configured toreceive and analyze interior vehicle configuration data from theinterior data collection component 120, and/or or another component ofthe vehicle 102 (e.g., one or more additional sensors of the vehicle102), in order to determine the physical configuration of the interiorspace of the vehicle 102, contents of the vehicle 102, and/orbehavior/actions of one or more vehicle occupants within the vehicle102. The interior vehicle configuration detection module 240 may includean interior vehicle configuration data storage 242, an interior vehicleconfiguration detection program memory 244, an interior vehicleconfiguration detection criteria memory 246, and an interior vehicleenvironment data storage 248. The interior vehicle configuration datastorage 242 may store interior vehicle configuration data received fromthe interior data collection component 120 and/or one or more vehiclesensors. The interior vehicle configuration detection program memory 244may be configured to store program instructions for detecting thephysical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle 102,contents of the vehicle 102, and/or behavior/actions of one or morevehicle occupants within the vehicle 102 based on the interior vehicleconfiguration data. The interior vehicle environment data storage 248may store interior vehicle environment data, received from the interiordata collection component 120, corresponding to changes in the physicalenvironment of the interior space of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, interior vehicle configuration data may be gatheredvia devices employing wireless communication technology, such asBluetooth or other IEEE communication standards, and then transmitted tothe interior vehicle configuration data storage 242. The interiorvehicle configuration data associated with the physical configuration ofthe interior space of the vehicle 102, contents of the vehicle 102,and/or behavior/actions of one or more vehicle occupants within thevehicle 102 that are gathered or collected in the vehicle 102 may bewirelessly transmitted to interior vehicle configuration data storage242 and/or a remote server (such as a remote processor or serverassociated with an insurance provider, if a driver has expressly agreedto participate in a program involving data collection/sharing). In anexample of this embodiment, a Bluetooth enabled smartphone or mobiledevice, carried by a vehicle occupant riding in the vehicle 102, maycollect interior vehicle configuration data indicative of the physicalconfiguration of the interior space of the vehicle 102 and transmit thecollected interior vehicle configuration data in real-time to thevehicle computer 200 to be analyzed.

The transportable article detection module 250 is configured to receiveand analyze transportable article data from the interior data collectioncomponent 120, and/or or another component of the vehicle 102 (e.g., oneor more additional sensors of the vehicle 102), in order to determineone or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of one or moretransportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. The transportablearticle detection module 250 may include a transportable article datastorage 252, a transportable article detection program memory 254, and atransportable article detection criteria memory 256. The transportablearticle data storage 252 may store transportable article data receivedfrom the interior data collection component 120 and/or one or morevehicle sensors. The transportable article data may be indicative of oneor more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or moretransportable articles 170. Examples of transportable article datainclude, but are not limited to the type, monetary value, material,height, length, width, size, weight, age, owner, sender, intendedrecipient, proper/recommended storage temperature (or range oftemperature values), date to be sold by, preferred location and/ororientation within the vehicle 102, and/or any other information relatedto the one or more transportable articles 170 and/or the safetransportation of the one or more transportable articles 170. In someembodiments, transportable article data may be received by a transceiverof the interior data collection component 120, and/or transmitted to thevehicle computer 200, from a third party device, server, network, orother remote database. The transportable article detection programmemory 254 may be configured to store program instructions fordetecting, based on the transportable article data, one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportablearticles 170. In some embodiments, one or more characteristic(s) and/ortrait(s) of the one or more transportable articles 170 may be detectedbased on criteria data stored in the transportable article detectioncriteria data storage 256, indicative of a threshold and/or othercriteria defining when a particular emergency condition exists.

In some embodiments, transportable article data may be gathered by theinterior data collection component 120 via devices employing wirelesscommunication technology, such as Bluetooth or other IEEE communicationstandards, and then stored in the transportable article data storage252. The transportable article data may also be transmitted to a remoteserver (such as a remote processor or server associated with aninsurance provider, if a driver has expressly agreed to participate in aprogram involving data collection/sharing).

The actuator control module 230 may be configured to determine whichvehicle safety component(s) 160 to deploy, the manner in which to deploythe vehicle safety component(s) 160, and to cause the VSC actuatorcomponent(s) 130 to deploy the vehicle safety component(s) 160 inresponse to the emergency condition being detected and/or the vehicle102 taking a specific action. The vehicle safety component 160 is aphysical element, unit, device, and/or apparatus, contained oraccessible from within the vehicle 102, that is configured to reduce therisk of injury to the one or more vehicle occupants. The actuatorcomponent module 230 may also be configured to determine which articleprotection component(s) 165 to deploy, to determine the manner in whichto deploy the article protection component(s) 165, and to cause the APCactuator component(s) 135 to deploy the article protection component(s)165 in response to the emergency condition being detected and/or thevehicle 102 taking a specific action. The article protection component165 is a physical element, unit, device, and/or apparatus, contained oraccessible from within the vehicle 102, that is configured to reduce therisk of damage to one or more transportable articles 170.

The actuator control module 230 may include an actuator program memory232, a vehicle safety component configuration data storage 234, anarticle protection component data storage 236, and/or vehicle occupantdata storage 238. The actuator program memory 232 may include programinstructions that are executed to cause the VSC actuator component(s)130 to deploy the vehicle safety component(s) 160, cause the APCcomponent(s) 135 to deploy the article protection component(s) 165,cause the VSC actuator component(s) 130 to deploy the vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160 in a specific manner, and/or cause the APC actuatorcomponent(s) 135 to deploy the article protection component(s) 165 in aspecific manner.

Data corresponding to physical configuration(s) of the vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160, which vehicle safety component(s) 160 to deploy,and/or a manner in which to deploy the vehicle safety component(s) 160may be stored in the vehicle safety component configuration data storage234. For example, the vehicle safety component configuration datastorage 234 may contain data indicative of a default physicalconfiguration, a current/initial physical configuration, a physicalconfiguration set by one or more vehicle occupants, and/or a set ofpotential physical configurations to which the vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160 may be adjusted in response to detecting a specificemergency condition and/or the vehicle 102 taking a specific action. Insome embodiments, vehicle safety component configuration data maycorrespond to a range of physical configurations that the vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160 may be adjusted or limited/restricted to in response tothe processor 202 detecting (and/or for as long as the processor 202detects) the vehicle 102 taking a specific action. In some embodiments,the physical configuration of the vehicle safety component(s) 160, whichvehicle safety component(s) 160 to deploy, and/or a manner in which todeploy the vehicle safety component(s) 160 may be predetermined,determined in real-time, determined in response to vehicle occupant datastored in the vehicle occupant data storage 238, and/or determined inresponse to the processor 202 detecting an emergency condition and/ordetecting the vehicle 102 has taken a specific action.

In determining which vehicle safety component(s) 160 to deploy and/orthe manner in which to deploy the vehicle safety component(s) 160, theprocessor 202 may take into account the preferences and/or one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more vehicle occupants.The vehicle occupant data storage 238 may contain data indicative of oneor more vehicle occupants' physical characteristics, biometric traits,pre-existing health conditions, mental health status, and/or any otherphysiological conditions. Examples of a vehicle occupant's preferencesmay include a vehicle occupant's selected and/or preferred mode ofoperation of the vehicle 102; activity/behavior within the vehicle 102;and/or physical location and/or orientation within the interior space ofthe vehicle 102. Examples of vehicle occupant data include, but are notlimited to, type of vehicle occupant (e.g., human, dog, cat, horse,snake, etc.), height, weight, gender, age, education level, profession,disabilities/impairments/limitations, and/or pregnancy status. In someembodiments, vehicle occupant data is collected using the interior datacollection component 120 and/or transmitted to the vehicle computer 200from a third party device, server, network, or other remote database.

Data corresponding to one or more article protection component(s) 165may be stored in the article protection component data storage 236. Datacorresponding to the one or more article protection component(s) 165 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a physical configuration (i.e., thelocation and/or orientation) of the one or more article protectioncomponent(s) 165, the selected subset of the article protectioncomponent(s) 165 to deploy, and/or a manner in which to deploy theselected subset of the article protection component(s) 165. For example,the article protection component data storage 236 may contain dataindicative of a default physical configuration, a current/initialphysical configuration, a physical configuration set by one or morevehicle occupants, and/or a set of potential physical configurations towhich the article protection component(s) 165 may be adjusted inresponse to detecting a specific emergency condition and/or the vehicle102 taking a specific action. In some embodiments, article protectioncomponent configuration data may correspond to a range of physicalconfigurations that the article protection component(s) 165 may beadjusted or limited/restricted to in response to the processor 202detecting (and/or for as long as the processor 202 detects) the vehicle102 taking a specific action.

The VSC actuator component 130 is configured to mechanically controlmovement of one or more mechanisms of the vehicle safety component 160in order to reduce the risk of injury to one or more vehicle occupants.The VSC actuator component 130 may use electronic, pneumatic, hydraulic,thermal, and/or magnetic means to mechanically operate the vehiclesafety component 160. The VSC actuator component 130 may adjust theentire vehicle safety component 160 or a part/section of the vehiclesafety component 160. The VSC actuator component 130 may be configuredto receive a command, or a message/signal indicative of a command, fromthe actuator control module 230, to deploy the vehicle safety component160 in response the vehicle computer 200 detecting an emergencycondition and/or detecting the vehicle 102 taking a specific action. Insome embodiments, the actuator control module 230 generates an analog ordigital power signal to control the VSC actuator component 130. The VSCactuator component 130 may be configured to mechanically adjust thephysical configuration (e.g., location, orientation, etc.) of thevehicle safety component 160.

Deploying the vehicle safety component 160 may entail adjusting thephysical configuration of the vehicle safety component 160. Examples ofadjusting the physical configuration of the vehicle safety component 160include, but are not limited to, adjusting a yaw angle, pitch angle,and/or roll angle of the vehicle safety component 160. Other examples ofadjusting the physical configuration include, but are not limited to,moving the vehicle safety component 160 in at least one of a forward,backward, upward, downward, outward, inward, clockwise,counterclockwise, or lateral direction relative to the vehicle 102. TheVSC actuator component 130 may be configured to tighten or loosen thevehicle safety component 160. In one example, when the vehicle safetycomponent 160 is an airbag, in response to a detecting the vehicle 102is going to be in a head-on collision, the VSC actuator component 130may move the airbag outwards toward a vehicle occupant seated within thevehicle 102 to reduce the risk of the vehicle occupant experiencingwhiplash and/or broken bones, tissue damage, and/or another injurycaused by the collision.

Examples of the VSC actuator component 130 include, but are not limitedto, a motor, gear, spring, or other device configured to move a seat,engage/disengage a seatbelt, tighten/loosen a seatbelt, roll up/down awindow, open/close a sunroof, lock/unlock a vehicle door, lock/unlock aninterior compartment, move an airbag, and/or operate any other vehiclesafety component 160 to reduce the risk of injury to one or more vehicleoccupants. The VSC actuator component 130 may be originally installed bya manufacturer of the vehicle 102, or installed as an aftermarketmodification or addition to the vehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the VSC actuator component 130 may include aStewart strut system (i.e., a Stewart platform) disposed on a moveableplatform with one or more legs of adjustable length. In suchembodiments, when the processor 202 detects the vehicle 102 is taking asharp turn, for example, the Stewart strut VSC actuator component 130may lengthen one or more of its legs and/or shorten some of its legs toadjust the physical configuration of the vehicle safety component 160 inorder to prevent one or more vehicle occupants suffering an injury as aresult of the vehicle 102 taking the sharp turn.

In some embodiments, such as the system 101 depicted in FIG. 1C, aplurality of VSC actuator components 130.1, 130.2, 130.3, 130.4, 130.5,and 130.6 may be utilized to control a plurality of vehicle safetycomponents 160.1, 160.2, 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6, respectively.In some embodiments, different VSC actuator components may be employedto deploy different types of vehicle safety components. In oneembodiment, for example, VSC actuator component 130.1 may be configuredto deploy a restraint device (vehicle safety component 160.1), whereasVSC actuator component 130.2 may be configured to deploy an airbag(vehicle safety component 160.2). Therefore, it should be appreciatedthat the VSC actuator components 130 may also differ in type.

In both the system 100 of FIG. 1A and the system 101 of FIG. 1C, the oneor more VSC actuator component(s) 130 may be configured to receive acommand, message, and/or signal from the actuator control module 230 toprevent the one or more vehicle safety component(s) 160 from beingadjusted or moved beyond a predetermined range of physicalconfigurations. For example, the actuator control module 230 maytransmit a signal to the VSC actuator component(s) 130 corresponding toa range of permissible positions to which the VSC actuator component(s)130 may move the vehicle safety component(s) 160, thereby restrictingthe VSC actuator component(s) 130 from moving the vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160 to any position outside that range. In someembodiments, for example, the actuator control module 230 causes the VSCactuator component(s) 130 to prevent one or more vehicle occupants frommanually adjusting the vehicle safety component(s) 160 (or a componentthereof). In some embodiments, restricting movement of the one or morevehicle safety component (s) 160 entails reinforcing and/orstrengthening the physical support system of the vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160.

In other embodiments, the VSC actuator component 130 may include alocking mechanism configured to restrict movement of the vehicle safetycomponent 160. For example, when the VSC actuator component 130 is aStewart strut system, movement of one or more of the Stewart strutsystem's legs may be restricted using a locking mechanism, therebykeeping one or more legs confined to a specific length, to prevent thevehicle safety component 160 from moving in a certain manner.

The APC actuator component 135 is configured to mechanically controlmovement of one or more mechanisms of the article protection component165 in order to reduce the risk of damage to the one or moretransportable articles 170. The APC actuator component 135 may useelectronic, pneumatic, hydraulic, thermal, and/or magnetic means tomechanically operate the article protection component 165. The APCactuator component 135 may adjust the entire article protectioncomponent 165 or a part/section of the article protection component 165.The APC actuator component 135 may be configured to receive a command,or a message/signal indicative of a command, from the actuator controlmodule 230, to deploy the article protection component 165 in responsethe vehicle computer 200 determining one or more characteristic(s)and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportable articles 170, and/ormodify/adjust the state of the article protection component 165 inresponse to the vehicle computer 200 detecting an emergency conditionand/or detecting the vehicle 102 taking a specific action. In someembodiments, the actuator control module 230 generates an analog ordigital power signal to control the APC actuator component 135. The APCactuator component 135 may be configured to mechanically adjust thephysical configuration (e.g., location, orientation, etc.) of thearticle protection component 165.

Deploying the article protection component 165 may entailmodifying/adjusting the physical configuration and/or state of thearticle protection component 165. Examples of modifying/adjusting thephysical configuration of the article protection component 165 include,but are not limited to, adjusting a yaw angle, pitch angle, and/or rollangle of the article protection component 165. Other examples ofadjusting the physical configuration include, but are not limited to,moving the article protection component 165 in at least one of aforward, backward, upward, downward, outward, inward, clockwise,counterclockwise, or lateral direction relative to the vehicle 102.Examples of modifying/adjusting the state of the article protectioncomponent 165 include, but are not limited to, changing the temperature,humidity, oxygen levels, and/or light exposure within the interior spaceof the vehicle 102. The APC actuator component 135 may be configured totighten or loosen the article protection component 165. For example,when the article protection component 165 is a restraint device, inresponse to a detecting the vehicle 102 is making a sharp turn, the APCactuator component 135 may cause the restraint device to tighten toreduce the risk of one or more transportable articles 170 tipping,sliding, toppling, and/or otherwise being damaged as a result of thevehicle 102 taking the sharp turn.

Examples of the APC actuator component 135 include, but are not limitedto, a motor, gear, spring, or other device configured to move a seat,engage/disengage a seatbelt, tighten/loosen a seatbelt, roll up/down awindow, open/close a sunroof, lock/unlock a vehicle door, lock/unlock aninterior compartment, deploy an airbag, and/or operate any other articleprotection component 165 to reduce the risk of damage to one or moretransportable article. The APC actuator component 135 may be originallyinstalled by a manufacturer of the vehicle 102, or installed as anaftermarket modification or addition to the vehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the APC actuator component 135 may include aStewart strut system (i.e., a Stewart platform) disposed on a moveableplatform with one or more legs of adjustable length. In suchembodiments, when the processor 202 detects the vehicle 102 is taking asharp turn, for example, the Stewart strut APC actuator component 135may lengthen one or more of its legs and/or shorten some of its legs toadjust the physical configuration of the APC actuator component 165 inorder to prevent damage to the transportable article 170 caused by thevehicle 102 taking the sharp turn.

In some embodiments, such as the system 101 depicted in FIG. 1C, aplurality of APC actuator components 135.1, 135.2 and 135.3 may beutilized to control a plurality of article protections components 165.1,165.2, and 165.3, respectively. In some embodiments different APCactuator components may be employed to deploy different types of articlecomponents. In one embodiment, for example, APC actuator component 135.1may be configured to control a restraint device (article protection165.1), whereas APC actuator component 135.2 may be configured tocontrol a temperature control device (article protection component165.2) and APC actuator component 135.3 may be configured to control animpact dampening pad (article protection component 165.3). Therefore, itshould be appreciated that the APC actuator components 135 may alsodiffer in type.

In both the system 100 of FIG. 1A and the system 101 of FIG. 1C, the oneor more APC actuator component(s) 135 may be configured to receive acommand, message, and/or signal from the actuator control module 230 toprevent the one or more article protection component(s) 165 from beingadjusted or moved beyond a predetermined range of physicalconfigurations. For example, the actuator control module 230 maytransmit a signal to the APC actuator component(s) 135 corresponding toa range of permissible positions to which the APC actuator component(s)135 may move the article protection component(s) 165, therebyrestricting the actuator component(s) 135 from moving the articleprotection component(s) 165 to any position outside that range. In someembodiments, restricting movement of the article protection component(s)165 entails reinforcing and/or strengthening the physical support systemof the article protection component(s) 165.

In other embodiments, the APC actuator component 135 may include alocking mechanism configured to restrict movement of the articleprotection component 165. For example, when the actuator component 135is a Stewart strut system, movement of one or more of the Stewart strutsystem's legs may be restricted using a locking mechanism, therebykeeping one or more legs confined to a specific length, to prevent thearticle protection component 165 from moving in a certain manner.

The interior vehicle component 140 is a physical element, unit, device,and/or apparatus contained or accessible from within the vehicle 102.The interior vehicle component 140 may be originally installed by amanufacturer of the vehicle 102, installed as an aftermarketmodification or addition to the vehicle 102, Examples of the interiorvehicle component 140 include, but are not limited to, a seatingapparatus, a bed, computer, mobile device, steering wheel, a mirror,window, a door, a hardtop convertible roof, a soft-top convertible roof,a floor panel, a visor, partition, sunroof, sky roof, user interface,control panel, head rest, arm rest, back rest, storage console, beverageholder, foot rest, bed, desk, work surface, and/or other element. Insome embodiments, the interior vehicle component 140 may be a componentthat is accessible from the interior and exterior of the vehicle 102,such as a vehicle door or window.

The interior data collection component 120 may collect datacorresponding to the physical configuration of the interior vehiclecomponent 140, before and/or during operation of the vehicle 102, sothat the processor 202 has reference data from which to evaluate whichvehicle safety component 160 to deploy, where to deploy the vehiclesafety component 160, how to deploy the vehicle safety component 160,and/or whether one or more vehicle occupants are at risk of sustainingan injury if an external condition is detected and/or the vehicle 102takes a specific action. The physical configuration of the interiorvehicle component 140 may be set by a manufacturer, the vehicle computer200 (or a component of the vehicle computer 200), or manually by an enduser such as a vehicle occupant. In response to the vehicle computer 200detecting an emergency condition and/or detecting the vehicle 102 hastaken a specific action, the VSC actuator component 130 may deploy thevehicle safety component 160 relative to the detected physicalconfiguration of the interior vehicle component(s) 140 in order toreduce the risk of injury to one or more vehicle occupants riding in thevehicle 102.

The vehicle safety component 160 may be configured to be deployed, bythe VSC actuator component 130, in response to the vehicle computer 200detecting an emergency condition and/or detecting the vehicle 102 takinga specific action. The vehicle safety component 160 may be deployed byhaving its physical configuration adjusted, or its movement restricted,to improve the safety of, prevent injury to, reduce the risk ofinjury/damage to, minimize injury/damage to, and/or to protect one ormore vehicle occupants riding in/on the vehicle 102 and/or transportablearticles 170 being transported by the vehicle 102. For example, in anembodiment in which the vehicle safety component 160 is an airbag, theairbag may be deployed in response to the processor 202 detecting animpending collision between the vehicle 102 and an external object 199.In another example in which the vehicle safety component 160 is aseatbelt, in response to detecting an impending collision, the VSCactuator component 130 may restrict the seatbelt's physicalconfiguration (e.g., a physical configuration that restrains a vehicleoccupants) so that the vehicle occupant is not displaced, and thevehicle occupant injured, as a result of the imminent collision impact.

The vehicle safety component 160 may be originally installed by amanufacturer of the vehicle 102, installed as an aftermarketmodification or addition to the vehicle 102, or may be an item thathappens to be present in the vehicle at a particular time (e.g., becauseone or more vehicle occupants carried the vehicle safety component 160into/onto the vehicle 102). Examples of the vehicle safety component 160include, but are not limited to an airbag, seatbelt, pillow, pad,cushion, partition, chemical flushing agent, fire-extinguishing agent,gasmask, oxygen-providing/regulating device, fire safety device,parachute, flotation device, net, non-human animal restraint device,non-human animal cage, storage module, and/or other element. In someembodiments, the vehicle safety component 160 may be a component that isaccessible from the interior and exterior of the vehicle 102. In someembodiments, the vehicle safety component 160 may be contained wholly orpartially within the front, back, left side, right side, ceiling, and/orfloor of the vehicle 102, or a component of vehicle 102. In someembodiments, the vehicle safety component 160 may be wholly or partiallycontained within, on, under, and/or above an object/article containedwithin the vehicle 102 (e.g., the interior vehicle component 140), or acomponent of the vehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 102 may contain just one vehicle safetycomponent 160 (or one of a specific type of vehicle safety component160), that has its physical configuration adjusted based on the physicalconfiguration of the interior space of the vehicle 102, contents of thevehicle 102, and/or behavior/actions of one or more vehicle occupantswithin the vehicle 102. Accordingly, the vehicle safety component 160may be in a first physical configuration prior to the vehicle computer200 detecting the physical configuration of the interior space of thevehicle 102. The interior data collection component 120 may collect datacorresponding to the physical configuration of the interior space of thevehicle 102, before and/or during operation of the vehicle 102, so thatthe processor 202 has reference data from which to evaluate where tomove the vehicle safety component 160 and/or how to deploy the vehiclesafety component 160 to reduce the risk of one or more vehicle occupantssustaining an injury if a hazardous driving condition is detected and/orthe vehicle 102 takes a specific action.

Conversely, in some embodiments, the vehicle 102 may contain a pluralityof vehicle safety components (e.g., vehicle safety components 160.1,160.2, 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6 of FIG. 1C). The plurality ofvehicle safety components may include different types of vehicle safetycomponents, and/or multiple of each of a specific type of vehicle safetycomponent, such as an airbag and a seatbelt, or six airbags, etc. Theprocessor 202 determines which vehicle safety component(s) 160 to deploybased on the physical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle102, contents of the vehicle 102, and/or behavior/actions of one or morevehicle occupants within the vehicle 102. In embodiments in which thevehicle 102 contains a plurality of vehicle safety components 160 (e.g.,as in FIG. 1C), the processor 202 may select a subset, from theplurality of vehicle safety components 160, to set to an active statesuch that when an emergency condition is detected or the vehicle 102takes a specific action, the processor 202 causes a plurality of VSCactuator components 130 to deploy the selected subset of the vehiclesafety components 160. In some embodiments, the interior data collectioncomponent 120 may collect data corresponding to the locations and/ororientations of one or more vehicle occupants of the vehicle 102, beforeand/or during operation of the vehicle 102, so that the processor 202may determine which vehicle safety component(s) 160 to select and/ordeploy to reduce the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants.

The physical configuration of the vehicle safety component(s) 160 may beset by a manufacturer, the vehicle computer 200 (or a component of thevehicle computer 200), or manually by an end user or vehicle occupant.In response to the vehicle computer 200 detecting an emergency conditionand/or detecting the vehicle 102 has taken a specific action, the VSCactuator component 130 may deploy the vehicle safety component 160 inorder to reduce the risk of injury to one or more vehicle occupantsriding in the vehicle 102. In some embodiments, the safety component 160may be configured to restrict the movement of one or more vehicleoccupants while inside the vehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the physical configuration of the vehicle safetycomponent 160 may not be deployed, in response to the processor 202detecting an emergency condition and/or detecting the vehicle 102 hastaken a specific action, because the processor 202 determines that oneor more vehicle occupants is not at risk of sustaining an injury, and/orthat the current physical configuration of the vehicle safety component160 is already sufficient to reduce the risk of injury to the one ormore vehicle occupants. For example, in embodiments in which the vehiclesafety component is a seatbelt, the processor 202 may determine that thevehicle 102 is going to collide with an external object. However, thecurrent physical configuration of the seatbelt may nonetheless bemaintained because the processor 202 has determined that a vehicleoccupant is already sufficiently restrained by the seatbelt, and thusthe seatbelt is already in the best physical configuration to protectthe vehicle occupant.

The article protection component 165 may be configured to be deployed,by the APC actuator component 135, in response to the vehicle computer200 determining one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) on the oneor more transportable articles in the vehicle 102. The articleprotection component 165 may be configured to be adjusted, by the APCactuator component 135, in response to the vehicle computer 200detecting an emergency condition and/or detecting the vehicle 102 takinga specific action. The article protection component 165 may be deployedby having its physical configuration adjusted, or its movementrestricted, to improve the safety of, prevent damage to, reduce the riskof damage to, minimize damage to, and/or to protect one or moretransportable articles 170 being transported by the vehicle 102. Forexample, in an embodiment in which the article protection component 165is an impact dampening pad, the impact dampening pad may be deployed inresponse to the processor 202 detecting an impending collision betweenthe vehicle 102 and an external object 199. Whereas in another examplein which the article protection component 165 is a restraint device, inresponse to determining one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) ofa transportable article 170, the APC actuator component 135 may engagethe restraint such that the transportable article 170 does not move, andthus is not damaged, while the vehicle 102 transports the transportablearticle 170. Further, in such an embodiment, the restraint device may beadjusted, after being initially deployed, in response to the processor202 detecting an emergency condition in order to protect thetransportable article 170 from suffering damage as a result of theemergency condition.

The article protection component 165 may be originally installed by amanufacturer of the vehicle 102, installed as an aftermarketmodification or addition to the vehicle 102, or may be an item thathappens to be present in the vehicle at a particular time (e.g., becauseone or more vehicle occupants carried the article protection component165 into/onto the vehicle 102). Examples of the article protectioncomponent 165 include, but are not limited to an airbag, restraintdevice, struts, temperature control devices, humidity control devices,light exposure control components, pillow, pad, cushion, partition,chemical flushing agent, fire-extinguishing agent, fan,oxygen-providing/regulating device, fire protection device, parachute,flotation device, net, storage module, and/or other element. In someembodiments, the article protection component 165 may be a componentthat is accessible from the interior and exterior of the vehicle 102. Insome embodiments, the article protection component 165 may be containedwholly or partially within the front, back, left side, right side,ceiling, and/or floor of the vehicle 102, or a component of vehicle 102.In some embodiments, the article protection component 165 may be whollyor partially contained within, on, under, and/or above an object/articlecontained within the vehicle 102 (e.g., the interior vehicle component140), or a component of the vehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 102 may contain just one articleprotection component 165 (or one of a specific type of articleprotection component 165), that has its physical configuration adjustedbased on the one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one ormore transportable articles 170. Accordingly, the article protectioncomponent 165 may be in a first physical configuration prior to thevehicle computer 200 detecting the physical configuration of theinterior space of the vehicle 102. The interior data collectioncomponent 120 may collect data corresponding to the one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportablearticles 170, before and/or during operation of the vehicle 102, so thatthe processor 202 has reference data from which to evaluate where tomove the article protection component 165, and/or how to deploy thearticle protection component 165, to reduce the risk of the one or moretransportable articles 170 becoming damaged when an emergency conditionis detected and/or the vehicle 102 takes a specific action.

Conversely, in some embodiments, the vehicle 102 may contain multiplearticle protection components 165 (e.g., different types of articleprotection components 165 and/or multiple of a specific type of articleprotection component 165, such as an impact dampening pad and arestraint device, or six impact dampening pads, etc.), and the processor202 determines which article protection component(s) 165 to deploy basedon the determined one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of theone or more transportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. Inembodiments in which the vehicle 102 contains a plurality of articleprotection components 165 (e.g., article protections components165.1,165.2, and 165.3 of FIG. 1C), the processor 202 may select asubset, from the plurality of article protection components 160, todeploy. Accordingly, the interior data collection component 120 maycollect data corresponding to the one or more transportable articles170, before and/or during operation of the vehicle 102, so that theprocessor 202 can determine which article protection component(s) 165 todeploy/modify/adjust in order to reduce the risk of damage to the one ormore transportable articles 170.

The physical configuration of the article protection component(s) 165may be set by a manufacturer, the vehicle computer 200 (or a componentof the vehicle computer 200), or manually by an end user or vehicleoccupant. In response to the vehicle computer 200 detecting an emergencycondition and/or detecting the vehicle 102 has taken a specific action,the APC actuator component 135 may deploy/adjust the article protectioncomponent 165 in order to reduce the risk of damage to the one or moretransportable articles 170. In some embodiments, the safety component165 may be configured to restrict the movement of the one or moretransportable articles 170 while inside the vehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the article protection component 165 may not bedeployed, or the physical configuration of the article protectioncomponent 165 may not be modified/adjusted, in response to the processor202 detecting an emergency condition and/or detecting the vehicle 102has taken a specific action, because the processor 202 determines thatone or more transportable articles 170 are not at risk of sustainingdamage, and/or that the current physical configuration of the articleprotection component 165 is sufficient to protect/reduce the risk ofdamage to the one or more transportable articles 170. For example, inembodiments in which the article protection component is a restraintdevice, the processor 202 may determine that the vehicle 102 is going tocollide with an external object. However, the current physicalconfiguration of the restraint may nonetheless be maintained because theprocessor 202 has determined that a transportable article 170 is alreadysufficiently secured by the restraint device, and thus the restraintdevice is already in the best physical configuration to protect thetransportable article 170.

Example Systems for Improving Safety of One or More Vehicle Occupants

In one embodiment of the system 101, as depicted in FIG. 1C, prior toand/or during operation of the vehicle 102, the interior data collectioncomponent 120 collects interior vehicle configuration data that isindicative of an interior space of the vehicle 102, and/or vehicleoccupant data that corresponds to one or more vehicle occupants ridingin the vehicle 102. The processor 202 stores the interior vehicleconfiguration data in the interior vehicle configuration data storage234 and stores the vehicle occupant data in the vehicle occupant datastorage 238. Both of these kinds of data are collected so that theprocessor may select a subset of a plurality of vehicle safetycomponents (i.e., a subset of the plurality of vehicle safety components160.1, 160.2, 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6) to be active. This datamay also be collected so that the processor 202 has a reference point ofpertinent information for assessing whether one or more vehicleoccupants riding in the vehicle 102 are at risk of sustaining an injurywhile in the vehicle 102.

After the processor 202 selects the subset of the plurality of vehiclesafety components (e.g., at least one of vehicle safety components160.1, 160.2, 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6), the processor sets thesubset of the plurality of vehicle safety components to be in an activestate so that the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safetycomponents may be deployed, in order to protect the one or more vehicleoccupants, when an emergency condition is detected. Thereafter, theexternal communication component 112 collects driving environment dataand transmits the driving environment data to the vehicle computer 200.The vehicle computer 200 receives the driving environment data via thetransceiver 204, and the processor 202 stores the driving environmentdata in the driving environment data storage 212. After the drivingenvironment data is collected, received, and stored in the drivingenvironment data storage 212, the processor 202 executes an emergencycondition detection program, stored in the emergency condition detectionprogram memory 214, which is configured to analyze the drivingenvironment data to determine whether an emergency condition exists.

When the processor 202 detects the emergency condition, the processor202 executes an actuator program stored in the actuator program memory232 to cause one or more VSC actuator components (e.g., 130.1, 130.2,130.3, 130.4, 130.5, and 130.6 of FIG. 1C) corresponding to the selectedsubset of the plurality of vehicle safety components (e.g., 160.1,160.2, 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6 of FIG. 1C) to deploy the selectedsubset of the plurality of vehicle safety components. The VSC actuatorcomponent(s) 130 then deploy the selected subset of vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160, in response to detecting the emergency condition, toreduce the risk of injury to, minimize injury to, and/or protect the oneor more vehicle occupants.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 101, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collectsdata (interior vehicle configuration data) representing the interiorspace of the vehicle. The first sensor transmits this data to aprocessor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202determines, based on this data, a person is seated in a passenger seatin the front left portion of the vehicle, facing the front of thevehicle (i.e., the location and orientation of a vehicle occupant). Inresponse to determining that particular location and orientation, theprocessor 202 selects, from among six airbags located throughout theinterior space of the vehicle (the vehicle safety components160.1-160.6), a first airbag located on the left side of the vehicle(the vehicle safety component 160.1) and a second airbag location in thefront of the vehicle (the vehicle safety component 160.2) to be in anactive state. The other four airbags (vehicle safety components 160.3,160.4, 160.5, and 160.6) remain in a deactivated state. A second sensor(e.g., the external communication component 112) coupled to the vehicle102 collects data (driving environment data) representing the positionand speed of an adjacent vehicle (e.g., object 199) driving in closeproximity to the vehicle 102. The sensor transmits this data to aprocessor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202detects, based on this data, whether the vehicle 102 and the adjacentvehicle are likely to collide (the emergency condition) by comparing,for example, the two vehicle's positions, speeds, and/or trajectories.When the processor 202 determines that the vehicle 102 and the adjacentvehicle will likely collide, the processor 202 causes the VSC actuatorcomponents 130.1 and 130.2 (the actuator components corresponding to theselected subset of vehicle safety components) to deploy the airbags160.1 and 160.2 (i.e., the selected subset of vehicle safetycomponents), respectively, in order to prepare the passenger for impactand reduce the risk of the passenger sustaining an injury resulting fromthe collision between the vehicle 102 and the adjacent vehicle.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 101, after the processor 202selects the subset of the plurality of vehicle safety components, theinternal data collection component 120 collects interior vehicleenvironment data and transmits the interior vehicle environment data tothe vehicle computer 200. The vehicle computer 200 receives the interiorvehicle environment data, and the processor 202 stores the interiorvehicle environment data in the interior vehicle environment datastorage 248. After the interior vehicle environment data is collected,received, and stored in the interior vehicle environment data storage248, the processor 202 executes an emergency condition detectionprogram, stored in the emergency condition detection program memory 214,which is configured to analyze the interior vehicle environment data todetermine whether an emergency condition exists. In response to theprocessor detecting the emergency condition, the processor causes one ormore VSC actuator components to deploy the selected subset of vehiclesafety components in order to reduce the risk of injury to, minimizeinjury to, and/or protect the one or more vehicle occupants.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 100, a sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component 120),contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collects data(interior vehicle configuration data) representing the interior space ofthe vehicle. The first sensor transmits this data to a processor 202(within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202 determines,based on this data, a person seated is in a passenger seat in the frontleft portion of the vehicle, facing the front of the vehicle (i.e., thelocation and orientation of a vehicle occupant). In response todetermining that particular location and orientation, the processor 202selects, from among six fire protection devices located throughout theinterior space of the vehicle (the vehicle safety components160.1-160.6), a first fire protection device (e.g., a fireproof blanketor partition) located on the left side of the vehicle (the vehiclesafety component 160.1) and a second fire protection device located inthe front of the vehicle (the vehicle safety component 160.2) to be inan active state. The other four fire protection devices (vehicle safetycomponents 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6) remain in a deactivatedstate. The sensor, or a second sensor contained within the interiorspace of the vehicle 102 (e.g., the interior data collection component120) collects data (interior vehicle environment data) representingchanges in the physical environment of the interior space of the vehicle102. The sensor transmits this data to a processor 202 (within thevehicle computer 200), and the processor 202 detects, based on thisdata, whether there is a fire within the interior space of the vehicle102 by comparing, for example, the temperature inside the vehicle, theexistence of smoke, and/or carbon dioxide levels in within the vehiclewith threshold values associated with fire. When the processor 202determines that there is a fire within the vehicle 102, the processor202 causes the VSC actuator components 130.1 and 130.2 to deploy thefire protection devices 160.1 and 160.2 (i.e., the selected subset ofvehicle safety components), respectively, in order to reduce the risk ofthe passenger sustaining an injury resulting from the fire.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 101, after the processor 202selects the subset of vehicle safety components, the vehicle operationcontroller 150 transmits the vehicle operation data to the vehiclecomputer 200. After the vehicle operation data is stored, the processor202 executes a vehicle action detection program stored in the vehicleaction detection program memory 224. The vehicle action detectionprogram is configured to analyze the vehicle operation data to determinewhether the vehicle 102 has taken a specific action that may create anemergency condition. Specific actions which the processor 202 may beconfigured to detect include, but are not limited to, the vehicle 102accelerating, decelerating, turning, braking, changing lanes, merging,moving in reverse, and/or any other physical movement by the vehicle102, any of its systems, and/or any of its components. In someembodiments, the processor 202 will only detect any of theaforementioned specific actions when the vehicle 102 taking such actionwould injure or cause harm, or increase the risk of injuring or causingharm, to one or more vehicle occupants riding in the vehicle 102. Thevehicle action detection program may comprise using one or morealgorithms, machine learning techniques, data comparison, and/or anyother methods for detecting whether the vehicle 102 has taken thespecific action. In some embodiments, the processor 202 will usecriteria data stored in the vehicle action detection criteria datastorage 226, indicative of a threshold and/or other criteria definingwhen the vehicle 102 takes a specific action, to determine whether thevehicle 102 has taken the specific action.

When the processor 202 determines that the vehicle 102 has taken thespecific action, the processor 202 executes an actuator program storedin the actuator program memory 232 to cause the VSC actuatorcomponent(s) 130 to deploy the selected subset of vehicle safetycomponent(s) 160 in order to reduce the risk of injury to, minimizeinjury to, and/or protect the one or more vehicle occupants.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 101, a sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component 120),contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collects data(interior vehicle configuration data) representing the interior space ofthe vehicle. The first sensor transmits this data to a processor 202(within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202 determines,based on this data, a person is seated in a passenger seat in the frontleft portion of the vehicle, facing the front of the vehicle (i.e., thelocation and orientation of a vehicle occupant). In response todetermining that particular location and orientation, the processor 202selects, from among six restraint devices located throughout theinterior space of the vehicle (the vehicle safety components160.1-160.6), a restraint device (e.g., a harness, seatbelt, etc.)located on the left side of the vehicle (the vehicle safety component160.1) to be in an active state. The restraint device 160.1 isconfigured to counteract and/or prevent a strain/effect, such aswhiplash, imposed on a vehicle passenger as a result of the vehicle 102accelerating. The other five restraint devices (vehicle safetycomponents 160.2, 160.3, 160.4, 160.5, and 160.6) remain in adeactivated state. To increase the speed of the vehicle 102 (e.g., inorder to keep up with surrounding traffic), the vehicle operationcontroller 150 transmits a signal, indicative of a command to acceleratethe vehicle 102, to a speed subsystem. The vehicle operation controller150 may also transmit vehicle operation data, indicative of theacceleration of the vehicle, to the vehicle computer 200, where thevehicle operation data may be stored in the vehicle operation datastorage 222. The processor 202 then analyzes the vehicle operation dataand detects that the vehicle 102 is accelerating, for example, bydetermining that there has been a large increase in the speed of thevehicle 102 over a short time span. When the processor 202 determinesthat the vehicle 102 is accelerating, the processor 202 causes the VSCactuator component 130.1 to deploy the restraint device 160.1 in orderto reduce the risk of the passenger sustaining an injury resulting fromthe vehicle 102 accelerating.

In one embodiment of the system 100, as depicted in FIG. 1A, prior toand/or during operation of the vehicle 102, the interior data collectioncomponent 120 collects interior vehicle configuration data indicative ofan interior space of the vehicle 102, and/or vehicle occupant datacorresponding to one or more vehicle occupants riding in the vehicle102. The processor 202 stores the interior vehicle configuration data inthe interior vehicle configuration data storage 234 and stores thevehicle occupant data in the vehicle occupant data storage 238. Thisdata is collected and analyzed so that the processor may determine aphysical configuration for the vehicle safety component 160. This datamay also be collected so that the processor 202 has a reference point ofpertinent information for assessing whether the vehicle occupant ridingin the vehicle 102 is at risk of sustaining an injury while in thevehicle 102. In response to the processor 202 analyzing the interiorvehicle configuration, the processor 202 may determine the locationand/or orientation of the vehicle occupant, and the processor 202 mayexecute an actuator program stored in the actuator program memory 232.The actuator program may cause a VSC actuator component 130 to adjustthe physical configuration of a vehicle safety component 160 from acurrent/first physical configuration to a second physical configurationbased on the location and/or orientation of the vehicle occupant.Adjusting the physical configuration of the vehicle safety component 160from a first physical configuration to the second physical configurationis intended put the vehicle safety component 160 in a physicalconfiguration that, when the vehicle safety component 160 is deployed,reduces the risk of injury to the vehicle occupant.

After the VSC actuator component 130 adjusts the physical configurationof the vehicle safety component 160 from the first physicalconfiguration to the second physical configuration, the externalcommunication component 112 collects driving environment data andtransmits the driving environment data to the vehicle computer 200. Thevehicle computer 200 receives the driving environment data via thetransceiver 204, and the processor 202 stores the driving environmentdata in the driving environment data storage 212. After the drivingenvironment data is collected, received, and stored in the drivingenvironment data storage 212, the processor 202 executes an emergencycondition detection program, stored in the emergency condition detectionprogram memory 214. The emergency condition detection program analyzesthe driving environment data to determine whether an emergency conditionexists.

When the processor 202 detects the emergency condition, the processor202 executes an actuator program stored in the actuator program memory232 to cause the VSC actuator component 130 to deploy the vehicle safetycomponent 160. The VSC actuator component 130 then deploys the vehiclesafety component 160, in response to the processor 202 detecting theemergency condition, to reduce the risk of injury to the vehicleoccupant.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 100, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collectsdata (interior vehicle configuration data) representing the interiorspace of the vehicle. The first sensor transmits this data to aprocessor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202determines, based on this data, a person is seated in a passenger seatin the front left portion of the vehicle, facing the front of thevehicle (i.e., the location and orientation of a vehicle occupant). Inresponse to determining that the person is in that particular locationand orientation, the processor 202 causes the VSC actuator component 130to move an airbag (the vehicle safety component 160) from the back rightcorner of the vehicle (the first physical configuration) to the frontleft side of the vehicle (the second physical configuration) so that ifan emergency condition is detected, the airbag can be deployed from alocation/orientation proximal to the person's location/orientationwithin in the vehicle. A second sensor (e.g., the external communicationcomponent 112) coupled to the vehicle 102 collects data (drivingenvironment data) representing the position and speed of an adjacentvehicle (e.g., object 199) driving in close proximity to the vehicle102. The sensor transmits this data to the processor 202 (within thevehicle computer 200), and the processor 202 detects, based on thisdata, whether the vehicle 102 and the adjacent vehicle is likely tocollide (the emergency condition) by comparing, for example, the twovehicle's positions, speeds, and/or trajectories. When the processor 202determines that the vehicle 102 and the adjacent vehicle will likelycollide, the processor 202 causes the VSC actuator component 130 todeploy the airbag from the front left side of the vehicle (the secondphysical configuration) in order to prepare the passenger for impact andreduce the risk of the passenger sustaining an injury resulting from thecollision between the vehicle 102 and the adjacent vehicle.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 100, after the processor 202causes the VSC actuator component 130 to adjust the physicalconfiguration of the vehicle safety component 160 from a first physicalconfiguration to a second physical configuration, the internal datacollection component 120 collects interior vehicle environment data andtransmits the interior vehicle environment data to the vehicle computer200. After the vehicle computer 200 receives the interior vehicleenvironment data, the processor 202 stores the interior vehicleenvironment data in the interior vehicle environment data storage 248,and the processor 202 executes an emergency condition detection programstored in the emergency condition detection program memory 214. Theemergency condition detection program is configured to analyze theinterior vehicle environment data to determine whether an emergencycondition exists. When the processor 202 detects the emergencycondition, the processor 202 causes the VSC actuator component 130 todeploy the vehicle safety component 160 in order to reduce the risk ofinjury to, minimize injury to, and/or protect the one or more vehicleoccupants.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 100, after the processor 202causes the VSC actuator component 130 to adjust the physicalconfiguration of the vehicle safety component 160 from a first physicalconfiguration to a second physical configuration, the vehicle operationcontroller 150 transmits vehicle operation data to the vehicle computer200. After the vehicle operation data is stored, the processor 202executes a vehicle action detection program stored in the vehicle actiondetection program memory 224. The vehicle action detection programanalyzes the vehicle operation data to determine whether the vehicle 102has taken a specific action that may create an emergency condition. Whenthe processor 202 determines that the vehicle 102 has taken the specificaction, the processor 202 executes an actuator program stored in theactuator program memory 232 to cause the VSC actuator component 130 todeploy the vehicle safety component 160 in order to reduce the risk ofinjury to, minimize injury to, and/or protect the one or more vehicleoccupants.

Example Systems for Protecting One or More Transportable Articles

In one embodiment of the system 101, as depicted in FIG. 1C, prior toand/or during operation of the vehicle 102, the interior data collectioncomponent 120 collects transportable article data that is indicative ofone or more transportable articles 170 within the interior space of thevehicle 102. The processor 202 of FIG. 1B stores the transportablearticle data in the transportable article data storage 252. Thetransportable article data is collected and the processor 202 executes atransportable article detection program, stored in the transportablearticle detection program memory 254, to determine one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportablearticles 170. Based on the determined characteristic(s) and/or trait(s),the program selects a subset of a plurality of article protectioncomponents (i.e., a subset of the plurality of article protectioncomponents 165.1, 165.2, and 165.3) to be deployed to protect the one ormore transportable articles 170. The transportable article data may alsobe collected and analyzed so that the processor 202 has a referencepoint of pertinent information for assessing whether one or moretransportable articles 170 are at risk of sustaining damage while beingtransported in the vehicle 102.

After the processor 202 selects the subset of the plurality of articleprotection components (e.g., at least one of article protectioncomponents 165.1, 165.2, and 165.3), the processor 202 executes anactuator program stored in the actuator program memory 232 to cause oneor more APC actuator components (e.g., 135.1, 135.2, and 135.3 of FIG.1C) corresponding to the selected subset of the plurality of articleprotection components (e.g., 165.1, 165.2, and 165.3 of FIG. 1C) todeploy the selected subset of the plurality of article protectioncomponents. The APC actuator component(s) 135 then deploys the selectedsubset of article protection components to reduce the risk of damage to,minimize damage to, and/or protect the one or more transportablearticles 170.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 101, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of the vehicle 102, collectsdata (transportable article data) representing the one or moretransportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. The first sensortransmits this data to the processor 202 (within the vehicle computer200), and the processor 202 determines, based on this data, a glass bowlis being transported by the vehicle 102. In response to determining thatthe transportable article 170 is a glass object (or a glass bowlspecifically), the processor 202 selects, from among three restraintdevices located throughout the interior space of the vehicle (thearticle protection components 165.1-165.3), two of the restraint devices(article protection components 165.1 and 165.2). The processors 202 thencauses the APC actuator components 135.1 and 135.2 to deploy,respectively, the article protection component 165.1 and the articleprotection component 165.2 to prevent the glass bowl from moving whilethe vehicle 102 is operating. The other restraint device (articleprotection component 165.3) remains in a deactivated state.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 101, after the APC actuatorcomponents (e.g., 135.1, 135.2, and 135.3 of FIG. 1C) deploy theselected subset of the article protection components (e.g., 165.1,165.2, and 165.3 of FIG. 1C), the external communication component 112collects driving environment data and transmits the driving environmentdata to the vehicle computer 200. The vehicle computer 200 receives thedriving environment data via the transceiver 204, and the processor 202stores the driving environment data in the driving environment datastorage 212. After the driving environment data is collected, received,and stored in the driving environment data storage 212, the processor202 executes an emergency condition detection program, stored in theemergency condition detection program memory 214, which is configured toanalyze the driving environment data to determine whether an emergencycondition exists.

When the processor 202 detects the emergency condition, the processor202 executes an actuator program stored in the actuator program memory232 to cause the one or more APC actuator components (e.g., 135.1,135.2, and 135.3 of FIG. 1C), corresponding to the selected subset ofarticle protection components (e.g., 165.1, 165.2, and 165.3 of FIG.1C), to adjust the physical configuration of the selected subset ofarticle protection components in order to protect the one or moretransportable articles 170. The APC actuator component(s) 135 thenadjust the selected subset of article protection components, in responseto detecting the emergency condition, to reduce the risk of damage to,minimize damage to, and/or protect the one or more transportablearticles 170.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 101, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collectsdata (transportable article data) representing the one or moretransportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. The first sensortransmits this data to the processor 202 (within the vehicle computer200), and the processor 202 determines, based on this data, a glass bowlis being transported by the vehicle 102. In response to determining thatthe transportable article 170 is a glass object (or a glass bowlspecifically), the processor 202 selects, from among three restraintdevices located throughout the interior space of the vehicle 102 (thearticle protection components 165.1-165.3), two of the restraint devices(article protection components 165.1 and 165.2). The processor 202 thencauses the APC actuator components 135.1 and 135.2 to deploy,respectively, the article protection component 165.1 and the articleprotection component 165.2 to prevent the glass bowl from moving whilethe vehicle 102 is operating. The other restraint device (articleprotection components 165.3) remains in a deactivated state. A secondsensor (e.g., the external communication component 112) coupled to thevehicle 102 collects data (driving environment data) representing theposition and speed of an adjacent vehicle (e.g., object 199) driving inclose proximity to the vehicle 102. The sensor transmits this data tothe processor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor202 detects, based on this data, whether the vehicle 102 and theadjacent vehicle are likely to collide (the emergency condition) bycomparing, for example, the two vehicle's positions, speeds, and/ortrajectories. When the processor 202 determines that the vehicle 102 andthe adjacent vehicle will likely collide, the processor 202 causes theAPC actuator components 135.1 and 135.2 to adjust the physicalconfiguration of the restraint devices 165.1 and 165.2 (i.e., theselected subset of article protection components), respectively, inorder to prepare for impact and reduce the risk of the glass bowl beingdamaged as a result of the collision between the vehicle 102 and theadjacent vehicle.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 101, after the APC actuatorcomponents (e.g., 135.1, 135.2, and 135.3 of FIG. 1C) deploy theselected subset of the article protection components (e.g., 165.1,165.2, and 165.3 of FIG. 1C), the internal data collection component 120collects interior vehicle environment data and transmits the interiorvehicle environment data to the vehicle computer 200. The vehiclecomputer 200 receives the interior vehicle environment data, and theprocessor 202 stores the interior vehicle environment data in theinterior vehicle environment data storage 248. After the interiorvehicle environment data is collected, received, and stored in theinterior vehicle environment data storage 248, the processor 202executes an emergency condition detection program, stored in theemergency condition detection program memory 214, which is configured toanalyze the interior vehicle environment data to determine whether anemergency condition exists. In response to the processor detecting theemergency condition, the processor causes one or more APC actuatorcomponents to adjust/modify the selected subset of article protectioncomponents in order to reduce the risk of damage to, minimize damage to,and/or protect the one or more transportable articles 170.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 101, a sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component 120),contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collects data(transportable article data) representing the one or more transportablearticles 170 within the vehicle 102. The first sensor transmits thisdata to the processor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and theprocessor 202 determines, based on this data, packages of ice cream arebeing transported by the vehicle 102. In response to determining thatthe transportable article 170 is packages of ice cream, the processor202 selects, from among three article protection components (atemperature control device 165.1, an impact dampening pad 165.2, and arestraint device 165.3) located throughout the interior space of thevehicle, and causes the APC actuator component 135.1 to deploy atemperature control device (165.1) and the APC actuator component 135.3to deploy a restraint device (the article protection component 165.3) toprotect the package of ice cream from moving and melting while thevehicle 102 is operating. The impact dampening device (articleprotection component 165.2) remains in a deactivated state. The sensor,or a second sensor contained within the interior space of the vehicle102 (e.g., the interior data collection component 120) collects data(interior vehicle environment data) representing changes in the physicalenvironment of the interior space of the vehicle 102. The sensortransmits this data to the processor 202 (within the vehicle computer200), and the processor 202 detects, based on this data, whether thetemperature within the vehicle 102 has risen. When the processor 202determines that the temperature within the vehicle 102 has risen, orreached a threshold value, the processor 202 may cause the APC actuatorcomponent 135.1 to adjust the temperature control device 165.1 (i.e.,one of the selected subset of article protection components), in orderto reduce the risk of the ice cream melting while being transported inthe vehicle 102.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 101, after the APC actuatorcomponents (e.g., 135.1, 135.2, and 135.3 of FIG. 1C) deploy the articleprotection components (e.g., 165.1, 165.2, and 165.3 of FIG. 1C), thevehicle operation controller 150 transmits the vehicle operation data tothe vehicle computer 200. After the vehicle operation data is stored,the processor 202 executes a vehicle action detection program stored inthe vehicle action detection program memory 224. The vehicle actiondetection program is configured to analyze the vehicle operation data todetermine whether the vehicle 102 has taken a specific action that maycreate an emergency condition. Specific actions which the processor 202may be configured to detect include, but are not limited to, the vehicle102 accelerating, decelerating, turning, braking, changing lanes,merging, moving in reverse, and/or any other physical movement by thevehicle 102, any of its systems, and/or any of its components. In someembodiments, the processor 202 will only detect any of theaforementioned specific actions when the vehicle 102 taking such actionwould damage, or increase the risk of damaging, one or moretransportable articles 170. The vehicle action detection program maycomprise using one or more algorithms, machine learning techniques, datacomparison, and/or any other methods for detecting whether the vehicle102 has taken the specific action. In some embodiments, the processor202 will use criteria data stored in the vehicle action detectioncriteria data storage 226, indicative of a threshold and/or othercriteria defining when the vehicle 102 takes a specific action, todetermine whether the vehicle 102 has taken the specific action.

When the processor 202 determines that the vehicle 102 has taken thespecific action, the processor 202 executes an actuator program storedin the actuator program memory 232 to cause the APC actuator component135 to adjust/modify the selected subset of article protectioncomponents in order to reduce the risk of damage to, minimize damage to,and/or protect the one or more transportable articles 170.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 101, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collectsdata (transportable article data) representing the one or moretransportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. The first sensortransmits this data to the processor 202 (within the vehicle computer200), and the processor 202 determines, based on this data, a glass bowlis being transported by the vehicle 102. In response to determining thatthe transportable article 170 is a glass object (or a glass bowlspecifically), the processor 202 selects, from among three restraintdevices located throughout the interior space of the vehicle (thearticle protection components 165.1-165.3), two of the restraint devices(article protection components 165.1 and 165.2). The processor 202 thencauses the APC actuator components 135.1 and 135.2 to deploy,respectively, the article protection component 165.1 and the articleprotection component 165.2 to prevent the glass bowl from moving whilethe vehicle 102 is operating. The other restraint device (articleprotection components 165.3) remains in a deactivated state. In thisexample scenario, to increase the speed of the vehicle 102 (e.g., inorder to keep up with surrounding traffic), the vehicle operationcontroller 150 transmits a signal, indicative of a command to acceleratethe vehicle 102, to a speed subsystem. The vehicle operation controller150 may also transmit vehicle operation data, indicative of theacceleration of the vehicle, to the vehicle computer 200, where thevehicle operation data may be stored in the vehicle operation datastorage 222. The processor 202 then analyzes the vehicle operation dataand detects that the vehicle 102 is accelerating, for example, bydetermining that there has been a large increase in the speed of thevehicle 102 over a short time span. When the processor 202 determinesthat the vehicle 102 is accelerating, the processor 202 causes the APCactuator components 135.1 and 135.2 to adjust the physical configurationof the first restraint device 165.1 and second restraint device 165.2,respectively, in order to reduce the risk of damage to, minimize damageto, and/or protect the one or more transportable articles 170.

In one embodiment of the system 100, as depicted in FIG. 1A, or thesystem 101, as depicted in FIG. 1C, prior to and/or during operation ofthe vehicle 102, the interior data collection component 120 collectstransportable article data that is indicative of one or moretransportable articles 170 within the interior space of the vehicle 102.The processor 202 stores the transportable article data in thetransportable article data storage 252. The processor 202 executes atransportable article detection program, stored in the transportablearticle detection program memory 254, to determine one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportablearticles 170 in order to select a manner in which the vehicle 102operates in order to protect/reduce to the risk of damage to the one ormore transportable articles 170. After the processor 202 determines theone or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or moretransportable articles 170, the processor 202 may cause the vehicleoperation controller 150 to generate and transmit vehicle control data,indicative of a driving decision, to operate the vehicle 102 or one ofits subsystems.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 100 or system 101, a first sensor (e.g., the internal datacollection component 120), contained within the interior space of avehicle 102, collects data (transportable article data) representing theone or more transportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. The firstsensor transmits this data to the processor 202 (within the vehiclecomputer 200), and the processor 202 determines, based on this data,that a transplant organ is being transported by the vehicle 102. Inresponse to determining that the transportable article 170 is atransplant organ, the processor 202 causes the vehicle operationcontroller 150 to cause the vehicle to accelerate and/or operate in amanner that will prioritize speed over ride comfort in furtherance oftransporting the transplant organ to its destination.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 100, as depicted in FIG. 1A,or system 101, as depicted in FIG. 1C, after the processor determinesthe one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or moretransportable articles 170, the processor 202 may cause the vehiclecontroller 150 to prevent/restrict the vehicle 102 from taking aspecific action based on the one or more characteristic(s) and/ortrait(s) of the one or more transportable articles 170.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 100 or system 101, a first sensor (e.g., the internal datacollection component 120), contained within the interior space of thevehicle 102, collects data (transportable article data) representing theone or more transportable articles 170 within the vehicle 102. The firstsensor transmits this data to the processor 202 (within the vehiclecomputer 200), and the processor 202 determines, based on this data,that a glass bowl is being transported by the vehicle 102. In responseto determining that the transportable article 170 is a glass object (ora glass bowl specifically), the processor 202 causes the vehicleoperation controller 150 to restrict the vehicle from exceeding acertain positive or negative acceleration, and/or making a sharp turn,in order to protect/reduce the risk of damage to the glass bowl.

Example Systems for Controlling Operation of a Vehicle

In one embodiment of the system 100, as depicted in FIG. 1A, prior toand/or during operation of the vehicle 102, the interior data collectioncomponent 120 collects interior vehicle configuration data that isindicative of an interior space of the vehicle 102. The processor 202stores the interior vehicle configuration data in the interior vehicleconfiguration data storage 234. In some embodiments, the interiorvehicle configuration data corresponds to the physical configuration ofthe interior space of the vehicle 102, the physical configuration of aninterior component (e.g., the interior vehicle component 140) within thevehicle 102, the presence of one or more vehicle occupants in thevehicle 102, a location and/or orientation of the one or more vehicleoccupants in the vehicle 102, one or more characteristic(s) and/ortrait(s) of the one or more vehicle occupants, and/or an action/behaviorof the one or more vehicle occupants. The interior vehicle configurationdata is collected so that the processor 202 may modify a manner in whichthe vehicle 102 operates based on the interior configuration of theinterior space of the vehicle 102.

The processor 202 executes an interior vehicle configuration detectionprogram, stored in an interior vehicle configuration detection programmemory 244, in order to determine the interior vehicle configuration ofthe vehicle 102. After the processor 202 determines the interior vehicleconfiguration of the vehicle 102, the processor 202 may cause thevehicle operation controller 150 to modify the manner in which thevehicle 102 operates, based on the determined interior vehicleconfiguration. The vehicle operation controller 150 modifies the mannerin which the vehicle operates by generating and transmitting vehiclecontrol data, indicative of a driving decision, to the vehicle 102 orone of its subsystems. In some embodiments, the vehicle operationcontroller 150 may modify the manner in which the vehicle operates bycausing the vehicle to take a specific action.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 100, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of the vehicle 102, collectsdata (interior vehicle configuration data) representing the interiorspace of the vehicle 102. The first sensor transmits this data to theprocessor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202determines, based on this data, a person (the vehicle occupant) issleeping (an action/behavior of the vehicle occupant) in a reclinedpassenger seat (the interior vehicle component 140) in the front leftportion of the vehicle (i.e., the location and orientation of theinterior vehicle occupant 140). In response to determining that interiorvehicle configuration, the processor 202 causes the vehicle operationcontroller 150 to cause the vehicle to decelerate and/or operate in amanner that will prioritize ride comfort over speed while the passengeris sleeping.

In an alternative embodiment of the system 100, as depicted in FIG. 1A,after the processor 202 determines the interior vehicle configuration ofthe vehicle 102, the processor 202 may cause the vehicle operationcontroller 150 to modify the manner in which the vehicle 102 operates,based on the determined interior vehicle configuration, bypreventing/restricting the vehicle 102 from taking a specific action.

By way of a non-limiting example to demonstrate this embodiment of thesystem 100, a first sensor (e.g., the internal data collection component120), contained within the interior space of a vehicle 102, collectsdata (interior vehicle configuration data) representing the interiorspace of the vehicle 102. The first sensor transmits this data to theprocessor 202 (within the vehicle computer 200), and the processor 202determines, based on this data, a person (the vehicle occupant) issitting upwards in a passenger seat (the location of the vehicleoccupant), facing the interior part of the vehicle 102 (the orientationof the vehicle occupant), and eating (an action/behavior of the vehicleoccupant) at a table (the interior vehicle component 140) located in thecenter of the vehicle 102 (the physical configuration of the interiorspace of the vehicle 102). In response to determining the interiorvehicle configuration, the processor 202 causes the vehicle operationcontroller 150 to restrict the vehicle from exceeding a certain positiveor negative acceleration, and/or making a sharp turn, in order toprevent/reduce the risk of the passenger choking while eating in thevehicle, or food/drink items being overturned, etc.

FIG. 2A illustrates a first embodiment and scenario in which one or morevehicle safety components may be deployed. As FIG. 2A illustrates,vehicle 102A includes an interior vehicle component 140A and vehiclesafety components 160.1A, 160.2A, 160.3A, 160.4A, 160.5A, 160.6A,160.7A, and 160.8A disposed within the interior space of the vehicle102A. In this embodiment, the interior vehicle component 140A is locatedin the front left side of the vehicle 102A and oriented facing the frontof the vehicle 102A. Based on this interior configuration of the vehicle102A, the processor may select the vehicle safety components 160.1A and160.8A, from the vehicle safety components 160.1A-160.8A, to be in anactive state, and then cause a plurality of VSC actuator components todeploy vehicle safety component 160.1A and 160.8A in response to thevehicle computer determining that an emergency condition has beendetected. For example, in an embodiment in which the interior vehiclecomponent 140A is a passenger seat, vehicle safety components160.1A-160.8A are airbags, and the emergency condition is an impendingcollision, the processor may detect that the interior configuration ofthe vehicle 102A corresponds to a vehicle occupant, seated in thepassenger seat in front left side of the vehicle 102A, facing forward.Accordingly, the processor may select the airbags closest to the vehicleoccupant (160.1A and 160.8A) from the airbags located within the vehicle102A (airbags 160.1A-160.8A) to be in an active state. Thus, when theprocessor detects that the vehicle 102A is going to be in a collision,the processor may cause the plurality of VSC actuator components todeploy the airbags 160.1A and 160.8A in order to protect/reduce the riskof injury to the vehicle occupant seated in the passenger seat 140A.

FIG. 2B illustrates a second embodiment and scenario in which one ormore vehicle safety components may be deployed. As FIG. 2B illustrates,vehicle 102B includes an interior vehicle component 140B and vehiclesafety components 160.1B, 160.2B, 160.3B, 160.4B, 160.5B, 160.6B,160.7B, and 160.8B disposed within the interior space of the vehicle102B. In this embodiment, the interior vehicle component 140B is locatedin the front left side of the vehicle 102B and oriented facing the rightside of the vehicle 102B. Based on this interior configuration of thevehicle 102B, the processor may select the vehicle safety components160.1B, 160.2B, and 160.3B, from the vehicle safety components160.1B-160.8B, to be in an active state, and then cause a plurality ofVSC actuator components to deploy vehicle safety component 160.1B,160.2B, and 160.3B in response to the vehicle computer determining thatan emergency condition has been detected. For example, in an embodimentin which the interior vehicle component 140B is a passenger seat,vehicle safety components 160.1B-160.8B are airbags, and the emergencycondition is an impending collision, the processor may detect that theinterior configuration of the vehicle 102B corresponds to a vehicleoccupant, seated in the passenger seat in front left side of thevehicle, facing right. Accordingly, the processor may select the airbagsclosest to the vehicle occupant (160.1B, 160.2B, and 160.3B) from theairbags located within the vehicle 102B (airbags 160.1B-160.8B) to be inan active state. Thus, when the processor detects that the vehicle 102Bis going to be in a collision, the processor may cause the plurality ofVSC actuator components to deploy the airbags 160.1B, 160.2B, and 160.3Bin order to protect/reduce the risk of injury to the vehicle occupantseated in the passenger seat 140B.

FIG. 2C illustrates a third embodiment and scenario in which one or morevehicle safety components may be deployed. As FIG. 2C illustrates,vehicle 102C includes a first interior vehicle component 140.1C, asecond interior vehicle component 140.2C, and vehicle safety components160.1C, 160.2C, 160.3C, 160.4C, 160.5C, 160.6C, 160.7C, and 160.8Cdisposed within the interior space of the vehicle 102C. In thisembodiment, the first interior vehicle component 140.1C is located inthe front left side of the vehicle 102C and oriented facing the front ofthe vehicle 102C, and the second interior vehicle component 140.2C islocated in the back right side of the vehicle 102C and oriented facingthe front of the vehicle 102C. Based on this interior configuration ofthe vehicle 102C, the processor may select the vehicle safety components160.1C, 160.4C, and 160.8C, from the vehicle safety components160.1C-160.8C, to be in an active state, and then cause a plurality ofVSC actuator components to deploy vehicle safety component 160.1C,160.4C, and 160.8C in response to the vehicle computer determining thatan emergency condition has been detected. For example, in an embodimentin which the first interior vehicle component 140.1C is a passengerseat, the second vehicle safety component 140.2C is a passenger seat,vehicle safety components 160.1C-160.8C are airbags, and the emergencycondition is an impending collision, the processor may detect that theinterior configuration of the vehicle 102C corresponds to a firstvehicle occupant seated in a first passenger seat (the first interiorvehicle component 140.1C) in the front left side of the vehicle, facingforward, and a second vehicle occupant seated in a second passenger seat(the second interior vehicle component 140.2) in the back right side ofthe vehicle, facing forward. Accordingly, the processor may select theairbags closest to the first vehicle occupant (160.1C and 160.8C) andthe second vehicle occupant (160.4C) from the airbags located within thevehicle 102C (airbags 160.1C-160.8C) to be in an active state. Thus,when the processor detects that the vehicle 102C is going to be in acollision, the processor may cause the plurality of VSC actuatorcomponents to deploy the airbags 160.1C, 160.4C, and 160.8C in order toprotect/reduce the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants.

FIG. 2D illustrates a fourth embodiment and scenario in which one ormore vehicle safety components may be deployed. As FIG. 2D illustrates,vehicle 102D includes a first interior vehicle component 140.1D, asecond interior vehicle component 140.2D, and vehicle safety components160.1D, 160.2D, 160.3D, 160.4D, 160.5D, 160.6D, 160.7D, and 160.8Ddisposed within the interior space of the vehicle 102D. In thisembodiment, the first interior vehicle component 140.1D is located inthe front left side of the vehicle 102D and oriented facing the front ofthe vehicle 102D, and the second interior vehicle component 140.2D islocated in the back right side of the vehicle 102D. Based on thisinterior configuration of the vehicle 102D, the processor may select thevehicle safety components 160.1D, 160.2D, 160.3D, 160.4D, 160.5D,160.6D, 160.7, and 160.8D, from the vehicle safety components160.1D-160.8D, to be in an active state, and then cause a plurality ofVSC actuator components to deploy vehicle safety components160.1D-160.8D in response to the vehicle computer determining that anemergency condition has been detected. For example, in one embodimentthe first interior vehicle component 140.1D is a passenger seat, thesecond vehicle safety component 140.2D is a non-human animal bed,vehicle safety components 160.1D-160.8D are airbags, and the emergencycondition is an impending collision. In this embodiment, the processormay detect that the interior configuration of the vehicle 102Dcorresponds to a first vehicle occupant seated in a first passenger seat(the first interior vehicle component 140.1D) in the front left side ofthe vehicle 102D and second a non-human vehicle occupant (e.g., a dog)seated in the animal bed (the second interior vehicle component 140.2)in the back right side of the vehicle 102D. Accordingly, the processormay select the airbags closest to the first vehicle occupant (160.1D and160.8D) and select the airbags that may be needed to protect thenon-human vehicle occupant (who is free to move throughout the vehicle)(160.2D, 160.3D, 160.4D, 160.5D, 160.6D, 160.7D) from the airbagslocated within the vehicle 102D (airbags 160.1D-160.8D) to be in anactive state. Thus, when the processor detects that the vehicle 102D isgoing to be in a collision, the processor may cause the plurality of VSCactuator components to deploy the airbags 160.1D-160.8D in order toprotect/reduce the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants.

FIG. 2E.1 illustrates a fifth embodiment in which one or more vehiclesafety components may be deployed. As FIG. 2E.1 illustrates, vehiclesafety components 160.1E, 160.2E, 160.3E, and 160.4E are disposed withinthe interior space of the vehicle 102E. A vehicle occupant is seated inthe vehicle 102E on interior vehicle component 140E. Vehicle safetycomponent 160.1E is disposed within the front portion of the vehicle102E and is configured to protect the vehicle occupant by deploying in abackwards direction towards the vehicle occupant's location and/ororientation within the vehicle 102E. Vehicle safety component 160.2E isdisposed within the top portion of the vehicle 102E and is configured toprotect the vehicle occupant by deploying in a downward direction towardthe vehicle occupant's location and/or orientation within the vehicle102E. Vehicle safety component 160.3E is disposed within the backportion of the vehicle 102E and is configured to protect the vehicleoccupant by deploying in a forward direction towards the vehicleoccupant's location and/or orientation within the vehicle 102E. Vehiclesafety component 160.4E is disposed within the floor of the vehicle 102Eand is configured to protect the vehicle occupant by deploying in anupward direction towards the vehicle occupant's location and/ororientation within the vehicle 102E. In this embodiment, the processormay cause an actuator component to deploy the vehicle safety components160.1E, 160.2E, 160.3E, and/or 160.4E in response to the vehiclecomputer determining that an emergency condition has been detected. Theprocessor may select, based on the vehicle occupant's location andorientation, a subset (e.g., vehicle safety components 160.1E and160.2E) of the plurality of vehicle safety components 160.1E, 160.2E,160.3E, and 160.4E, to be active while the vehicle 102E is operating.When the processor detects an emergency condition, the processor causesone or more actuator components to deploy the active subset of theplurality of vehicle safety components (e.g., 160.1E and/or 160.2E) inorder to protect/reduce the risk of injury to the occupant caused by theemergency condition.

FIG. 2E.2 illustrates a sixth embodiment in which one or more vehiclesafety components may be deployed. The components illustrated in FIG.2E.2 correspond to and operate in the same manner as the like-numberedcomponents shown in FIG. 2E.1. In FIG. 2E.2, the processor causes anactuator component to deploy the vehicle safety component 160.1E basedon the location and orientation of the vehicle occupant within thevehicle 102E. As FIG. 2E.2 illustrates, the vehicle safety component160.1E is selected to be active because the vehicle occupant is in aphysical configuration within the vehicle 102 in which he/she is locatedtowards the front of the vehicle 102E and in a forward-facingorientation towards the vehicle safety component 160.1E. Accordingly,the processor may select, based on the vehicle occupant's location andorientation, vehicle safety component 160.1E to be active while thevehicle 102E is operating. When the processor detects an emergencycondition, the processor may cause the actuator component to deployvehicle safety component 160.1E in order to protect the vehicleoccupant. For example, in an embodiment in which the vehicle safetycomponents 160.1E, 160.2E, 160.3E, and 160.4E are airbags, the processormay select vehicle safety component 160.1E to be active while thepassenger is located towards the front of the vehicle 102E and facingforward. In the event of an emergency condition, (e.g., a collision),for example, deployment of the vehicle safety component 160.1E mayprovide the greatest amount of protection for the vehicle passenger.

FIG. 2E.3 illustrates a seventh embodiment in which one or more vehiclesafety components may be deployed. The components illustrated in FIG.2E.3 correspond to and operate in the same manner as the like-numberedcomponents shown in FIG. 2E.1. In FIG. 2E.3, the processor causes anactuator component to deploy the vehicle safety component 160.2E basedon the location and orientation of the vehicle occupant within thevehicle 102E. As FIG. 2E.3 illustrates, the vehicle safety component160.2E is selected to be active because the vehicle occupant is in aphysical configuration within the vehicle 102E in which he/she islocated towards the front of the vehicle and in a reclinedorientation/facing towards the vehicle safety component 160.2E.Accordingly, the processor may select, based on the vehicle occupant'slocation and orientation, vehicle safety component 160.2E to be activewhile the vehicle 102E is operating. When the processor detects anemergency condition, the processor may cause the actuator component todeploy vehicle safety component 160.2E in order to protect the vehicleoccupant. For example, in an embodiment in which the vehicle safetycomponents 160.1E, 160.2E, 160.3E, and 160.4E are airbags, the processormay select airbag 160.2E to be active while the passenger is locatedtowards the front of the vehicle 102E and in a reclinedorientation/facing toward the airbag 160.2E. In the event of anemergency condition (e.g., a collision), for example, the airbag 160.2Emay provide the greatest amount of protection for the vehicle passenger.

FIG. 2F illustrates an embodiment and scenario in which one or morevehicle safety components of different types may be selected anddeployed. As FIG. 2F illustrates, vehicle 102F includes three differenttypes of vehicle safety components 160.1F, 160.2F, and 160.3F disposedwithin the interior space of the vehicle 102F. Based on this interiorconfiguration of the vehicle 102F, the processor may select the vehiclesafety components 160.1F and 160.3F from the vehicle safety components160.1F, 160.2F, and 160.3F to be in an active state, because they offerthe greatest and/or most relevant form of protection for the vehicleoccupant. The processor may then cause a plurality of VSC actuatorcomponents to deploy vehicle safety components 160.1F and 160.3F inresponse to the vehicle computer determining that an emergency conditionhas been detected. For example, in an embodiment in which the vehicleoccupant is a non-human animal (e.g., a dog) that is free to move aboutthe interior space of the vehicle 102F, vehicle safety components 160.1Fis a restraint device (e.g., an animal harness or leash), vehicle safetycomponent 160.2F is a fire extinguisher, vehicle safety component 160.3Fis an impact dampening pad (e.g., an airbag), and the emergencycondition is an impending collision, the processor may detect that theinterior configuration of the vehicle 102F corresponds to a dog seatedon the floor that is free to move about the interior space of thevehicle 102F. Accordingly, the processor may select the restraint device160.1F and the impact dampening pad 160.3F from the vehicle safetycomponents located within the vehicle 102F to be in an active state,because the processor has detected that the restraint device has beenplaced on the non-human animal. Thus, when the processor detects thatthe vehicle 102F is going to be in a collision, the processor may causethe plurality of VSC actuator components to adjust the restraint device160.1F (i.e., by restricting/preventing movement of the non-human animalby tightening the restraint device or reducing slack of the restraintdevice) and deploy the impact dampening pad 160.3F in order toprotect/reduce the risk of injury to the dog traveling in the vehicle102F.

FIG. 2G illustrates a first embodiment in which a vehicle safetycomponent may be adjusted from a first physical configuration to asecond physical configuration. As FIG. 2G illustrates, vehicle 102Gincludes an interior vehicle component 140G and a vehicle safetycomponent 160G. The interior vehicle component 140G is disposed in alocation in the front right side of the vehicle 102G and oriented facingthe right side of the vehicle 102G. Vehicle safety component 160G isdisposed within the vehicle 102G in a first physical configuration 162Gin the back right corner of the vehicle 102G. In this embodiment, thevehicle safety component 160G is adjusted forwards to a second physicalconfiguration 164G in response to the vehicle computer determining theinterior vehicle configuration of the vehicle 102G. For example, in anembodiment in which the interior vehicle component 140G is a passengerseat in the vehicle 102G and the vehicle safety component 160G is animpact dampening pad (e.g., an airbag), when the processor determinesthat a vehicle occupant is seated in the passenger seat in the frontright side of the vehicle and facing right, the processor may cause anactuator component to adjust the physical configuration of the impactdampening pad 160G from a current/first physical configuration in theback of the vehicle 102G (the first physical configuration 162G)forwards to a new physical configuration towards front of the vehicle102G (the second physical configuration 164G) so that if an emergencycondition is detected, the impact dampening pad 160G can be deployedfrom a location/orientation proximal to the vehicle occupant'slocation/orientation within in the vehicle 102G.

FIG. 2H illustrates an embodiment and scenario in which an articleprotection component may be deployed to protect one or moretransportable articles. As FIG. 2H illustrates, transportable article170H is disposed within a vehicle 102H. In response to determining oneor more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the transportable article170H, a processor may cause an APC actuator component (not shown in FIG.2H) to deploy an article protection component 165H. Accordingly, thearticle protection component 165H is in a first state 172H that isconfigured to protect/reduce the risk of damage to the transportablearticle 170H. In response to detecting an emergency condition, theprocessor may cause the APC actuator component to adjust the state ofthe article protection component 165H to a second state 174H in order toprotect/reduce the risk of damage to the transportable article 170Hcaused by the emergency condition. For example, in an embodiment inwhich the transportable article 170H is a glass bowl and the articleprotection component 165H is a restraint device, when the processordetects that the vehicle 102H is entering a steep downward slopping roadsegment (the emergency condition), the processor may cause the APCactuator component to adjust the restraint device 165H from a firstphysical configuration (the first state 172H) to a second physicalconfiguration (the second state 174H) to protect the glass bowl frommoving/tipping over, and thus be at risk of suffering damage, caused bythe vehicle 102H traveling on the sleep downward sloping road segment.

FIG. 2I illustrates an embodiment and scenario in which one or morearticle protection components of different types may be selected anddeployed to protect one or more transportable articles. As FIG. 2Iillustrates, a transportable article 170I and three different types ofarticle protection components 165.1I, 165.2I, and 165.31 are disposedwithin the interior space of the vehicle 102I. Based on the processordetermining one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of thetransportable article 170, the processor may select and deploy thearticle protection components 165.1I and 165.2I, because they offer thegreatest and/or most relevant form of protection for the transportablearticle 170I, from the subset of article protection components 165.1I,165.2I, and 165.31. In response to the processor detecting an emergencycondition, the processor may then cause a plurality of APC actuatorcomponents (not shown in FIG. 2I) to adjust the state of the articleprotection components 165.1I and 165.2I. Accordingly, for example, thearticle protection component 165.2I is adjusted from a first state172.2I to a second state 174.2I that is configured to protect/reduce therisk of damage to the transportable article 170I. For example, in anembodiment in which the transportable article 170I is a glass bowl, thearticle protection component 165.1I is a restraint device (e.g., a strutor harness apparatus), the article component 165.2I is an impactdampening pad (e.g., an airbag), the article protection component 165.31is a temperature control device (e.g., a fan, heater, or airconditioning system), and the emergency condition is an impendingcollision, the processor may detect the size of the transportablearticle 170I and that transportable article 170I is made of glass.Accordingly, the processor may select the restraint device 165.1I andthe impact dampening pad 165.2I from the subset of article protectioncomponents located within the vehicle 102I to be deployed to protect theglass bowl from moving while being transported in the vehicle 102I. Whenthe processor detects that the vehicle 102I is going to be in acollision, the processor may cause the plurality of APC actuatorcomponents to deploy/adjust the physical configuration of the restraintdevice 165.1I and deploy the impact dampening pad 165.2I in order toprotect/reduce the risk of damage to the glass bowl 170I. Thus, the APCactuator component may adjust the article protection component 165.2Ifrom a first physical configuration (the first state 172.2I) to a secondphysical configuration (the second state 174.2I) to protect the glassbowl from breaking. The article protection component 165.31 may be acomponent that is not useful to the protection of a glass object, suchas a refrigerant/blower system, for example.

Adjusting or Selecting a Safety Device

FIG. 3A illustrates a method 300A in which one or more vehicle safetycomponents (e.g., the vehicle safety components 160.1-160.6 of thevehicle 102 in FIG. 1C) are selected, based on a location and/ororientation of one or more vehicle occupants, and deployed based on anemergency condition. The method 300A may be implemented as describedabove in connection with FIGS. 1B and 1C. Accordingly, the method 300Amay be partially or completely implemented on the vehicle computer 200.

In the method 300A, interior vehicle configuration data (indicative ofthe interior space of the vehicle) is acquired (block 310A). Interiorvehicle configuration data may be collected, generated, and/or receivedusing a data collection component (e.g., the interior data collectioncomponent 120 of FIG. 1C). Once collected, the interior vehicleconfiguration data may be stored locally within the vehicle, for examplein a data storage unit (e.g., the interior vehicle configuration datastorage 242 of the vehicle computer 200 of FIG. 1B), and possibly alsotransmitted remotely to a third party device, machine, server, network,and/or database (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed to participatein a program involving data collection/sharing). In some embodiments,the third party device, machine, server, network, and/or database may beassociated with or operated by or on behalf of an insurance provider.The third party device, machine, server, network, and/or database may beconfigured to receive, collect, and/or analyze driving environment dataand/or other data in accordance with any of the methods describedherein.

In some embodiments, vehicle occupant data, corresponding tocharacteristics and/or traits of one or more occupants riding in thevehicle 102, may also be acquired at block 310A. Vehicle occupant datamay also be collected, generated, and/or received using a datacollection component (e.g., the interior data collection component 120of FIG. 1C). Vehicle occupant data may be stored locally within thevehicle, for example in a data storage unit (e.g., the vehicle occupantdata storage 238 of the vehicle computer 200 of FIG. 1B), and possiblyalso transmitted remotely to a third party device, machine, server,network, and/or database (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed toparticipate in a program involving data collection/sharing). It shouldbe appreciated that in some embodiments of the method 300A, vehicleoccupant data may be utilized in a similar manner as and/or for similarpurposes as the interior configuration data.

A location and/or orientation of the one or more vehicle occupants isdetermined by analyzing (e.g., via the processor 202 of the vehiclecomputer 200 of FIG. 1B) the collected interior vehicle configurationdata (block 320A). In some embodiments, the interior vehicleconfiguration data may be analyzed in real-time to determine a physicalconfiguration of the interior space of the vehicle, the presence of oneor more occupants (e.g., human passengers, non-human animals, etc.) inthe vehicle, a location and/or orientation of the one or more vehicleoccupants, and/or the actions/behaviors of the one or more vehicleoccupants. In one embodiment, the data may be analyzed by comparingacquired interior vehicle configuration data with previously collectedinterior vehicle configuration data corresponding to a previousstatus/physical configuration/condition of the interior space of thevehicle. In some embodiments, previously collected interior vehicleconfiguration data may correspond to an unoccupied/empty interior spaceof the vehicle. In some embodiments, interior vehicle configuration datamay be analyzed to determine a physical configuration of an interiorvehicle component (e.g., a passenger seat, storage console, drinkholder, desk, etc.), and/or the location and/or orientation of the oneor more vehicle occupants relative to the interior vehicle component.For example, in an embodiment in which the interior vehicle component isa passenger seat, the interior vehicle configuration data may beanalyzed to determine where the passenger seat is located within thevehicle, whether a vehicle occupant is seated in the passenger seat, thephysical configuration about a yaw angle in which the passenger seat isoriented, the physical configuration about a roll angle in which thepassenger seat is tilted, and/or the proximity of other interior vehiclecomponents (e.g., other passenger seats, storage consoles, etc.),vehicle occupants (human passengers and/or non-human animals), and/orone or more transportable articles to the passenger seat. In someembodiments, interior vehicle configuration data may be analyzed todetermine the one or more vehicle occupants' actions/behavior, orintended/expected actions/behavior, within vehicle. For example, aspecific physical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle maycorrespond to the one or more vehicle occupants sleeping, eating,exercising, working, or engaging in another action/behavior within theinterior space of the vehicle.

In embodiments in which vehicle occupant data is collected, vehicleoccupant data may be analyzed to determine physical characteristicsand/or traits of the one or more vehicle occupants. For example, vehicleoccupant data may indicate the type of occupant (e.g., adult human,child human, trained dog, untrained dog, horse, reptile, etc.), size ofthe occupant (e.g., height, weight, etc.), whether the occupant iswearing some type of article (e.g., glasses, a brace, leash, etc.),and/or whether the occupant has a medical condition/disability (e.g.,missing limbs, asthma, heart condition, bad back, etc.).

In some embodiments, the type of vehicle occupant, and/or locationand/or orientation of the one or more vehicle occupants, for example,may be determined by comparing the interior vehicle configuration dataand/or vehicle occupant data, with a maximum or minimumcriteria/threshold that is indicative of the point at which an interiorvehicle configuration condition (e.g., presence of a vehicle occupant)is detected. In some embodiments, the criteria/threshold indicative ofthe point at which an interior vehicle configuration condition isdetected may be stored in a data storage unit (e.g., the interiorvehicle configuration detection criteria data storage 246 of FIG. 1B).Once determined, the data corresponding to the physical configuration ofthe interior space of the vehicle, such as the location and/ororientation of the one or more vehicle occupants, may be stored locallywithin the vehicle (e.g., in the interior vehicle configuration datastorage 242 of FIG. 1B), and possibly also transmitted remotely to athird party device, machine, server, network, and/or database (e.g., ifa driver has expressly agreed to participate in a program involving datacollection/sharing). In some embodiments, the third party device,machine, server, network, and/or database may be associated with oroperated by or on behalf of an insurance provider. In some embodiments,the data corresponding to the interior space of the vehicle may be usedto adjust, generate, and/or update an insurance policy, premium, rate,discount, and/or reward for the specific driver, passenger, and/or theinsured individual.

In response to determining the physical configuration of the interiorspace of the vehicle, the processor may select a subset of vehiclesafety components (i.e., one or more of the vehicle safety components)to be active from a plurality of vehicle safety components (block 330A).The interior space of the vehicle may contain a plurality of vehiclesafety components (e.g., airbags, occupant restraint devices, fireextinguishing agents, etc.) configured to be deployed to protect/reducethe risk of injury to a vehicle occupant when an emergency condition isdetected. For example, the vehicle may contain airbags and occupantrestraint devices in multiple locations within the interior space of thevehicle (e.g., one or more airbags and restraints device dedicated foreach of the front left side, front right side, back left side, and backright side of the vehicle). Based on the determined location and/ororientation of the one or more vehicle occupants, the processor mayselect a subset of the plurality of vehicle safety components to beactive. For example, in an embodiment in which the plurality of vehiclesafety components are airbags disposed within the interior space of thevehicle, in response to detecting a vehicle occupant is sitting facingforward in the front left side of the vehicle, the processor may selectthose airbags that are located in the front and/or left side of thevehicle to be active. Whereas the processor may not select those airbagslocated in the back and/or right side of the vehicle to be activebecause, if deployed, they would not protect/reduce the risk of injuryto the vehicle occupant. In another embodiment, the processor may selectthe subset of the plurality of vehicle safety components to be activefrom amongst a plurality of different types of vehicle safetycomponents. For example, when the vehicle occupant is a dog, theprocessor may select a harness/leash to be active, as opposed to airbagsor a seatbelt configured for a human vehicle occupant.

Once the processor has selected the subset of the plurality of vehiclesafety components, the processor sets the selected subset of theplurality of vehicle safety components to be in an activate state thatenables the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safetycomponents to be deployed when an emergency condition is detected. Insome embodiments, the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safetycomponents may be stored as data in a data storage unit (e.g., thevehicle safety component configuration data storage 234 of FIG. 1B). Forexample, when the emergency condition is an impending vehicle collisionand the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safety componentsare a plurality of airbags, the airbags set to being in an active statewill be deployed when the processor detects the vehicle is going to bein a collision.

In some embodiments, the vehicle occupant data, collected by an interiordata collection component (such as the interior data collectioncomponent 120 of FIG. 1C) and stored in a data storage (such as thevehicle occupant data storage 238 of FIG. 1B), may also be used toselect which of the plurality of the vehicle safety components may beactive. For example, if a vehicle occupant is pregnant, this informationmay be factored into determining which type of plurality of vehiclesafety component to select, from which location to deploy a vehiclesafety component, and/or with what amount of force/speed to deploy theselected subset of the plurality of the vehicle safety components,because certain types of vehicle safety components (e.g., airbags,restraint devices, etc.), manners of deployment (e.g. rapid or sharpdeployment generating high amounts of force), and/or deploymentconfigurations (e.g., deployed from a physical configuration that putspressure on the vehicle occupant's stomach) may be detrimental to thepregnant vehicle occupant and/or her child.

Similarly, for example, if a vehicle occupant has a backinjury/condition, deploying a certain type of vehicle safety componentand/or deploying a vehicle safety component in a certain manner maycause the vehicle occupant discomfort and/or may further aggravate thecondition. Therefore, the vehicle occupant data may be considered indetermining the vehicle safety component to select. For example, in anembodiment in which the plurality of vehicle safety components includesan airbag and restraint device, selecting and deploying the airbag (inresponse to detecting an emergency condition such as an impendingcollision) with too much force/too rapidly may cause a vehicle occupantwith a back condition to experience whiplash that puts more strain onhis/her back than the force caused by the collision impact. Whereas therestraint device may provide similar safety benefits as the airbag, butnot cause the vehicle occupant to experience any detrimental effectscaused by deployment of the restraint device.

In the method 300A, driving environment data indicative of a physicalenvironment external to the vehicle is acquired (block 340A). Drivingenvironment data may be collected, generated, and/or received using anexternal environment component (e.g., the external environment component112 of FIG. 1C). In some embodiments, some or all of the drivingenvironment data may be received from a third party device, machine,server, network, and/or database. Once collected, the drivingenvironment data may be stored locally within the vehicle, for examplein the driving environment data storage 212 of the vehicle computer 200,and possibly also transmitted remotely to a third party device, machine,server, network, and/or database (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreedto participate in a program involving data collection/sharing). In someembodiments, the third party device, machine, server, network, and/ordatabase may be associated with or operated by or on behalf of aninsurance provider. The third party device, machine, server, network,and/or database may be configured to receive, collect, and/or analyzedriving environment data and/or other data in accordance with any of themethods described herein. For example, driving environment data may bereceived, either directly or through an intermediate network, from othervehicles traveling on the same road as the vehicle and/or aninfrastructure component along the road, either directly or through anintermediate network.

In some embodiments, at block 340A, interior vehicle environment datacorresponding to changes in the physical environment of the interiorspace of the vehicle may also be acquired, in addition to or in place ofthe external environment data. Interior vehicle environment data may becollected, generated, and/or received using the interior data collectioncomponent (e.g., the interior data collection component 120 of FIG. 1C).Once collected, the interior vehicle environment data may be storedlocally within the vehicle, for example in a data storage unit of thevehicle computer 200, and possibly also transmitted remotely to a thirdparty device, machine, server, network, and/or database (e.g., if adriver has expressly agreed to participate in a program involving datacollection/sharing). It should be appreciated that in some embodimentsof the method 300A, interior vehicle environment data may utilized in asimilar manner as and/or for similar purposes as the externalenvironment data and/or interior vehicle environment data.

In some embodiments, at block 340A, vehicle operation data representingthe functional outputs of the vehicle may also be acquired, in additionto or in place of the external environment data and/or interior vehicleenvironment data. The vehicle operation data, which may include orotherwise be based on vehicle control data generated by a vehicleoperation controller (e.g., the vehicle operation controller 150 of FIG.1C), may transmitted to a vehicle computer (e.g. the vehicle computer200 of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C) and stored in a data storage (e.g. thevehicle operation data storage 222), and possibly also transmittedremotely to a third party device, machine, server, network, and/ordatabase (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed to participate in aprogram involving data collection/sharing). It should be appreciatedthat in some embodiments of the method 300A, vehicle operation data mayutilized in a similar manner as and/or for similar purposes as theexternal environment data.

The method 300A determines whether an emergency condition exists byanalyzing the received driving environment data (block 350A). It shouldbe appreciated that in some embodiments, at block 350A the method 300Amay determine whether an emergency conditions exists by analyzing thereceived interior vehicle environment data and/or vehicle operationdata, in addition to or instead of analyzing the driving environmentdata, using methods and/or techniques similar to those described herein.In some embodiments, the driving environment data is analyzed inreal-time to determine whether an emergency condition exists that may behazardous to the operation of the vehicle and/or the one or more vehicleoccupants' safety. In some embodiments where vehicle operation data isacquired at block 340A, the vehicle operation data is analyzed todetermine whether an emergency condition exists based on the vehicletaking a specific action that may be hazardous to the operation of thevehicle and/or the one or more vehicle occupants' safety the processorIt should be understood that a vehicle “action” may comprise a singlemaneuver (e.g. accelerating, braking, turning the steering wheel, etc.),a combination of maneuvers (e.g. changing lanes—which entails acombination of changing speeds and turning, or changing lanes and thenpulling onto a shoulder, etc.), an operational state (e.g. a speed ofthe vehicle, applying the brakes, etc.), or a change in operationalstate.

In one embodiment, the driving environment data may be analyzed bycomparing acquired driving environment data corresponding to currentdriving environment conditions, previously collected driving environmentdata corresponding to past driving environment conditions, currentvehicle operation data, and/or past vehicle operation data. Examples ofcurrent driving environment conditions may include objects currentlyadjacent to the vehicle, objects within the current trajectory of thevehicle, current traffic conditions, current road conditions, currentweather conditions, and/or any other data about the current state of thedriving environment external to the vehicle. Past conditions may includepast traffic conditions, past road conditions, past weather conditions,and/or any other data about the previous state of the drivingenvironment external to the vehicle. Past conditions may also includedata about conditions that are similar to the current conditions and mayfurther include data about conditions in the same or similar locations,and/or past behavior/actions of the same or similar type of vehicle,driver, pedestrian, and/or non-human animal adjacent to the vehicle.

The driving environment data may also be analyzed to predict thelikelihood of future behavior, actions, and/or events. For example, theexpected path of an adjacent vehicle may be predicted, in furtherance ofdetermining whether an emergency condition exists, by analyzing datacorresponding to where and/or how the adjacent vehicle is driving or hasdriven in the recent past (e.g., speeds of the adjacent vehicle, and/orother driving habits/behavior such as frequently makes sudden stops,changing lanes, etc.). Accordingly, analyzing this data may help theprocessor determine the likelihood of an emergency condition occurringand/or determine more readily when an emergency condition does exist.

Driving environment data may also be analyzed to determine when (e.g., atime of day, time of year, etc.) and/or under what conditions a vehicleis at an elevated risk of exposure to an emergency condition. Forexample, certain road areas may be more problematic during rush hour orat night, during winter months when roads freeze over, when underconstruction, or when it is raining. In another example, drivingenvironment data may indicate that certain intersections or portions ofroads may be associated with a higher-than-average number of vehicle,bicycle, and/or pedestrian collisions, a higher amount of traffic, alarge amount of road construction, and/or abnormal traffic patterns.

For example, to determine whether a particular emergency conditionexists, such as an impending collision, the method may compare thereceived driving environment data with data covering the same weatherand road conditions for the same speed at which the vehicle istraveling. The driving environment data may be analyzed to determinewhether certain roads and/or intersections are prone to certain types ofcollision-causing hazards (such as parked cars, wildlife running intothe road, roads seldom sprinkled with salt to prevent icing over,potholes, sharp turns, narrow roads, etc.). The driving environment datamay indicate that the vehicle is approaching a slowing or parkedvehicle, and given the current speed of the vehicle and the distancebetween the vehicle and the slowing/parked vehicle, the vehicle is goingto collide with the slowing or parked vehicle.

In some embodiments, the existence of an emergency condition may bedetermined by comparing the driving environment data with a maximum orminimum criteria/threshold that is indicative of the point at which anemergency condition is detected. In some embodiments, thecriteria/threshold indicative of the point at which an emergencycondition is detected may be stored in a data storage unit (e.g., theemergency condition criteria data storage 216 of FIG. 1B). To detect theemergency condition, the driving environment data, or the valuecorresponding to the driving environment data, may need to be equal to,less than, or greater than the criteria/threshold, or a valuecorresponding to the criteria/threshold.

These thresholds may apply directly to the driving environment data ormay apply to a more advanced driving environment data analysis. Forexample, in one embodiment configured to detect whether an adjacentvehicle is going to collide with the vehicle (the emergency condition),data corresponding to the distance between the vehicle and the adjacentvehicle (the driving environment data) may be analyzed by the processor.In such an embodiment, the threshold for detecting an impendingcollision may be a distance between the two vehicles that is 2-feet orless. Consequently, when the analysis of the driving environment datareveals the distance between the vehicle and the adjacent vehicle isonly 1.5-feet, the processor detects that there is a risk of animpending collision (thereby detecting the existence of the emergencycondition). However, an impending collision may not be detected untilthe adjacent vehicle and the vehicle are within 2 feet or less of eachother. In this way, until the emergency is detected, unnecessarilydeploying the vehicle safety component may be avoided.

Further, depending on other relevant conditions, different thresholdvalues (i.e. larger or smaller) may be used to detect an emergencycondition. For example, in detecting the likelihood of an impendingcollision (the emergency condition) between a vehicle and an adjacentvehicle based on the distance between the two vehicles, weatherconditions, traffic conditions, and/or road conditions may be taken intoaccount in determining a threshold value. In such an embodiment, when itis snowing and the road is icy, the threshold indicative of an impendingcollision may increase from “2 feet or less” to “10 feet or less”between the two vehicles because of the increased risk of a vehicleskidding.

Alternatively, in an embodiment, the driving environment data may beused to calculate a different value associated with the likelihood of anemergency condition occurring. In such an embodiment, the emergencycondition may be detected when the determined value exceeds apredetermined value, indicative of the likelihood of an emergencycondition occurring. The calculated value may reflect, for example, apredicted probability of a collision between the vehicle and an externalobject, or predicted likelihood of an injury to the one or more vehicleoccupants. For example, based on the analysis of the collected drivingenvironment data, an impending collision may be detected when there is a75% chance or higher likelihood that the vehicle and the external objectwill collide. In another example, based on the analysis of the collecteddriving environment data, an emergency condition may be detected becausethe emergency condition is indicative of an above 50% chance that theone or more vehicle occupants may suffer an injury.

While some embodiments of the method 300A have been discussed usingindividual thresholds to detect an emergency condition, it should beappreciated that detection of an emergency condition may entail the useof multiple criteria and/or thresholds, and/or machine learning (asdiscussed further below). Further, an embodiment using more than onecriteria/threshold may not require that every criterion/threshold bemet/exceeded to determine an emergency condition exists. For example, inone embodiment and scenario, driving environmental data may be analyzedto determine whether a moving vehicle (such as the adjacent object 199of FIG. 1C) is going to collide with a stationary vehicle (such as thevehicle 102 of FIG. 1C). Data related to criteria such as the distancebetween the moving vehicle and the stationary vehicle, the speed of themoving vehicle, the trajectory of the moving vehicle, the slipperinessof the road on which the moving vehicle is driving, whether thestationary vehicle is parked or just has the brakes temporarily applied,whether the stationary vehicle has sufficient space or time to move outof the trajectory of the vehicle, and/or any other relevant criteria,may be analyzed to detect whether a collision between the two vehiclesmay occur. While the speed of the vehicle may be determined to notexceed a threshold indicative of an impending collision with thestationary vehicle, the emergency condition of collision between the twovehicles may nonetheless still be detected because the slipperiness ofthe road exceeds a certain threshold value and the stationary vehicle isparked and does not have adequate space and/or time to move out of thetrajectory of the moving vehicle.

In some embodiments, one or more real-time calculations may beperformed, using the driving environment data, to determine whether anemergency condition exists. In an example in which the vehicle isstopped but another vehicle (the external object) is approaching thevehicle, driving environment data corresponding to the approachingvehicle's speed and the distance between the two vehicles may beanalyzed to determine whether a collision will occur. The collecteddriving environment data may be used to calculate whether theapproaching vehicle is travelling at a speed at which it would bephysically incapable of stopping, given the distance between the twovehicles, without colliding with the stopped vehicle. In anotherexample, driving environment data corresponding to a speed limit inkilometers per hour may be collected and then converted into a speedlimit in miles per hour in furtherance of detecting an emergencycondition.

When an emergency condition is not detected, the method returns to block340A to collect more driving environment data and repeats part of themethod 300A as described above (e.g., on a periodic basis). However,when the emergency condition is detected, the method proceeds to block360A.

In response to detecting the emergency condition, an actuator program,stored in an actuator program memory (for example the actuator programmemory 232 of FIG. 1B), is executed to cause one or more actuatorcomponents (such as the VSC actuator components 130.1-130.6 of FIG. 1C)to deploy the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safetycomponent(s) (such as the vehicle safety components 160.1-160.6 of FIG.1C) (block 360A). In some embodiments, the actuator program determineswhich vehicle safety component(s) to deploy based on the data that wasstored in a data storage unit (e.g., the vehicle safety componentconfiguration data storage 234 of FIG. 1B) at block 330A.

In some embodiments, deploying the selected subset of the plurality ofvehicle safety components is intended to reduce the risk of injury toand/or protect the vehicle occupant(s). For example, in an embodiment inwhich the external environment data corresponds to an impendingcollision (the emergency condition) and the selected subset of theplurality of vehicle safety components is an airbag, in response todetecting the impending collision, the actuator component may deploy theairbag to reduce the risk of the one or more vehicle occupants sufferingan injury caused by the impact from the collision.

As another example, interior vehicle environment data may correspond toa fire within the interior space of the vehicle (the emergencycondition) and the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safetycomponents may be a fire extinguishing agent. In response to detectingthe fire within the interior space of the vehicle, the actuator programmay deploy the fire extinguishing agent to extinguish the fire in orderto reduce the risk of the one or more vehicle occupants being burned bythe fire.

As still another example, vehicle operation data may correspond to thevehicle taking a sharp turn (the emergency condition) and the selectedsubset of the plurality of vehicle safety components may be a restraintdevice. In response to detecting the vehicle is taking a sharp turn, theactuator component may deploy the restraint device to prevent the one ormore vehicle occupants from being displaced, and potentially injured, asa result of the vehicle taking the sharp turn.

In some embodiments of the method 300A, information received, generated,calculated, detected, and/or determined during the method 300 may bestored for future use (block 370A). Stored information may include, butis not limited to, the, interior vehicle configuration data collected atblock 310A, vehicle occupant data collected at block 310A, the interiorvehicle configuration determined at block 320A, the selected subset ofthe plurality of vehicle safety components at block 330A, the drivingenvironment data (and/or other data) collected at block 340A, and/or theemergency condition detected at block 350A. Storing this information forfuture use may improve the accuracy and/or speed of analyzing drivingenvironment data, detecting an emergency condition, training machinelearning models which may be used for detecting the emergency condition,determining an interior vehicle configuration, determining which vehiclesafety component(s) to select, determining which vehicle safetycomponent(s) to deploy, and/or determining a manner in which to deploythe selected vehicle safety component(s). The recorded information maybe stored locally in the vehicle computer and/or may be transmitted to athird party machine (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed toparticipate in a program involving data collection/sharing). In someembodiments, recorded information may be used for generating, adjusting,evaluating, investigating, analyzing, or prospecting insurance coverage,parameters of the insurance policy (e.g., a deductible), a premium, arate, a discount, and/or a reward for the specific driver, passenger, orthe insured individual.

In some embodiments, the method 300A does not include block 340A, andthe emergency condition is detected at block 350A in a mechanical senserather than by processing data. For example, the selected subset ofvehicle safety components may be physically “unlocked” at block 330A(e.g., by releasing a latch), and deployed at block 360A via a hardwaremechanism that is triggered upon a sufficiently forceful impact.

FIG. 3B illustrates a method 300B in which the physical configuration ofa vehicle safety components is adjusted based on the location and/ororientation of one or more vehicle occupants, and deployed. Steps 310B,320B, 340B, 350B, 360B, and 370B may be performed in the same manner assteps 310A, 320A, 340A, 350A, 360A, and 370A, respectively, of themethod 300A as described with reference to FIG. 3A, for example.Moreover, block 340B may be omitted, and the vehicle safety componentmay be deployed at block 360B via a purely hardware mechanism, asdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 3A. The method 300B may beimplemented as described above in connection with FIGS. 1A and 1B.

Block 330B, however, may differ from block 330A of the method 300A. Inthe method 300B, in response to detecting the location and/ororientation of the one or more vehicle occupants, an actuator program,stored in an actuator program memory (e.g., the actuator program memory232 of FIG. 1B), is executed to cause an actuator component (such as theVSC actuator component 130 of FIG. 1A) to adjust the physicalconfiguration of the vehicle safety component (e.g., the vehicle safetycomponent 160 of FIG. 1A) (block 330B). The actuator program causes thevehicle safety component to be adjusted from an initial/first physicalconfiguration to a second physical configuration. The second physicalconfiguration of the vehicle safety component may correspond to interiorvehicle configuration data stored in a data storage unit (e.g., theinterior vehicle configuration data storage 242 of FIG. 1B).

In some embodiments, adjusting the physical configuration of the vehiclesafety component from a first physical configuration to the secondphysical configuration is intended put the vehicle safety component in aphysical configuration that, when deployed, protects/reduces the risk ofinjury to the one or more vehicle occupants. For example, when thevehicle safety component is an airbag and the processor determines thata vehicle occupant is seated in the front right side of the vehiclefacing out, the actuator component may move the airbag from the leftside of the vehicle to the front ride side of the vehicle. Thus, if anemergency condition, such as a collision, is detected, the airbag can bedeployed from a physical configuration that will adequately protect thevehicle occupant.

In another example in which the vehicle safety component is an airbag,the actuator component may adjust the location and/or orientation of theairbag in response to a vehicle occupant adjusting his/her locationand/or orientation within the vehicle. For example, when the vehicleoccupants is seated in a passenger seat and swivels in the passengerseat from facing towards the front of the vehicle to facing towards theleft side of the vehicle, the actuator component may adjust the physicalconfiguration of the airbag from a location that was configured toprotect the vehicle occupant facing the front of the vehicle (the firstphysical configuration) when deployed, to a new location configured toprotect the vehicle occupant facing the left side of the vehicle (thesecond physical configuration) when deployed.

In some embodiments, the vehicle safety component may be adjusted from afirst physical configuration to a second physical configuration inresponse to determining the one or more vehicle occupants are engagingin a specific action, activity, or behavior. For example, in anembodiment in which the vehicle safety component is an airbag and theprocessor determines a human vehicle occupant is working on a computerwhile traveling in the vehicle, the actuator component may adjust thephysical configuration of the airbag. In response to an emergencycondition such as a collision or impending collision, the airbag will bedeployed from a location and/or orientation that protects the humanvehicle occupant from being injured by the computer.

In some embodiments, vehicle occupant data, collected by the interiordata collection component (such as the interior data collectioncomponent 120 of FIG. 1A) and stored in a data storage (such as thevehicle occupant data storage 238 of FIG. 1B), may also be used todetermine and/or affect the second physical configuration of the vehiclesafety component. For example, if a vehicle occupant is pregnant, thisinformation may be factored into determining what location and/ororientation to cause the actuator component to deploy the vehicle safetycomponent from because certain movements (e.g. rapid or sharp movements)and/or configurations (e.g. a configuration that puts pressure on thevehicle occupant's stomach) may be detrimental to the pregnant vehicleoccupant and/or her child. In an embodiment in which the one or morevehicle occupants is a pregnant passenger and the vehicle safetycomponent is an airbag, for example, the actuator component may adjustthe physical configuration of the airbag to a location and/ororientation so that if deployed (e.g., in response to the processordetecting an emergency condition such as an impending collision), theairbag does not make contact with the pregnant passenger's stomach area.

Similarly, if the one or more vehicle occupants has a pre-existinginjury/condition, deploying the vehicle safety component from a certainphysical configuration may cause the one or more vehicle occupantsdiscomfort and/or may further aggravate the injury/condition. Forexample, in an embodiment in which the one or more vehicle occupantshave back injuries/conditions, the vehicle safety component is anairbag, and the emergency condition is an impending collision, theactuator component may adjust the physical configuration of the airbagso that when the airbag is deployed it does not cause any strain on thevehicle occupant's back.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the vehicle safetycomponent may be adjusted from the first physical configuration to thesecond physical configuration at any point in the method 300B after theprocessor has determined the location and/or orientation of the one ormore vehicle occupants. In one embodiment, the physical configuration ofthe vehicle safety component may not be adjusted until after theprocessor has detected the emergency condition. For example, in anembodiment in which the emergency condition is a fire within the vehicleand the vehicle safety component is a fire extinguishing agent/device,in response to detecting a fire within the vehicle, the processor maycause the actuator component to adjust the physical configuration of thefire extinguishing agent/device in order to enable the fireextinguishing agent/device to be in a location/orientation better suitedto extinguish the fire when deployed.

After the actuator program has been executed to determine the secondphysical configuration of the vehicle safety component, then thephysical configuration of the vehicle safety component may be adjustedfrom the first physical configuration to the second physicalconfiguration.

Dynamic Safe Storage of Vehicle Content

FIG. 4A illustrates a method 400A in which one or more articleprotection components (e.g., the article protection components165.1-165.3 of the vehicle 102 in FIG. 1C) are selected, based on one ormore characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of one or more transportablearticles (e.g., the transportable article 170 of FIG. 1C), and deployedto protect the one or more transportable articles. The method 400A maybe implemented as described above in connection with FIGS. 1B and 1C.Accordingly, the method 400A may be partially or completely implementedon the vehicle computer 200.

In the method 400A, transportable article data (indicative of one ormore transportable articles within interior space of the vehicle, and insome embodiments also indicative the interior space of the vehicleitself) is acquired (block 410A). Transportable article data may becollected, generated, and/or received using a data collection component(e.g., the interior data collection component 120 of FIG. 1C). Oncecollected, the transportable article data may be stored locally withinthe vehicle, for example in a data storage unit (e.g., the transportablearticle data storage 252 of the vehicle computer 200 of FIG. 1B), andpossibly also transmitted remotely to a third party device, machine,server, network, and/or database (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreedto participate in a program involving data collection/sharing). In someembodiments, the third party device, machine, server, network, and/ordatabase may be associated with or operated by or on behalf of aninsurance provider. The third party device, machine, server, network,and/or database may be configured to receive, collect, and/or analyzedriving environment data and/or other data in accordance with any of themethods described herein.

The method 400A determines one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s)of the one or more transportable articles by analyzing (e.g., via theprocessor 202 of the vehicle computer 200 of FIG. 1B) the transportablearticle data (block 420A). In some embodiments, the transportablearticle data may be analyzed in real-time to determine the existence ofone or more transportable articles within the vehicle. The transportablearticle data may also be analyzed to determine a location and/ororientation of the one or more transportable articles within theinterior space of the vehicle. In one embodiment, the transportablearticle data may be analyzed by comparing acquired transportable articledata with data in a database, corresponding to predetermined types oftransportable articles, and/or previously collected transportablearticle data corresponding to one or more previously transportedarticles. The processor may determine one or more characteristic(s)and/or trait(s) corresponding to, for example, the type of the one ormore transportable articles (e.g., perishable food, furniture,glassware, electronic equipment, sporting equipment, toxic chemicals,etc.), the size of the one or more transportable articles (e.g., height,width, length, weight, etc.), the required or recommended temperaturefor storing the one or more transportable articles (e.g., cold forperishable groceries, warm for a pizza delivery, etc.), and/or any othercharacteristic or trait relevant to protecting the one or moretransportable articles. For example, in an embodiment in which the oneor more transportable articles are glassware, the transportable articledata may identify the one or more transportable articles as being madeof glass, the quantity of glassware (e.g., four plates), and/or theweight of the glassware. Further, the transportable article data mayalso correspond to the location and/or orientation of the glasswarewithin the vehicle (e.g., the four plates stacked on top of each other,on the floor in the back end of the vehicle).

In some embodiments, the type of the one or more transportable articles,for example, may be determined by comparing the transportable articledata with a maximum or minimum criteria/threshold that is indicative ofthe point at which a specific type of characteristic and/or trait isdetected. In some embodiments, the criteria/threshold indicative of thepoint at which a specific characteristic and/or trait is detected may bestored in a data storage unit (e.g., the transportable article datastorage 252 of FIG. 1B). Once determined, the data corresponding to oneor more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one the one or moretransportable articles, such as the type and size of the transportablearticle, may be stored locally within the vehicle (e.g., in thetransportable article data storage 236 of FIG. 1B), and possibly alsotransmitted remotely to a third party device, machine, server, network,and/or database (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed to participatein a program involving data collection/sharing). In some embodiments,the third party device, machine, server, network, and/or database may beassociated with or operated by or on behalf of an insurance provider. Insome embodiments, the data corresponding to the interior space of thevehicle may be used to adjust, generate, and/or update an insurancepolicy, premium, rate, discount, and/or reward for the specific driver,passenger, and/or the insured individual.

In response to determining the one or more characteristic(s) and/ortrait(s) of the one or more transportable articles, the processor mayselect a subset of article protection components (i.e., one or more ofthe article protection components) to be active from a plurality ofarticle protection components (block 430A). The interior space of thevehicle may contain a plurality of article protection components (e.g.,impact dampening pads, restraint devices, containers, temperaturecontrol devices, light exposure control components, fire extinguishingagents, etc.) configured to be deployed to protect/reduce the risk ofdamage to the one or more transportable articles. For example, thevehicle may contain a plurality of impact dampening pads in multiplelocations within the interior space of the vehicle (e.g., one or morepads for each of the front left side, front right side, back left side,back right side, trunk, consoles, etc. of the vehicle). For example, inan embodiment in which the transportable article is a glass object andthe plurality of article protection components include impact dampeningpads disposed within the interior space of the vehicle, in response todetermining the transportable article is a glass object in the trunk ofthe vehicle, the processor may select those impact dampening pads thatare located in the trunk of the vehicle to be deployed to cushion theglass object. Conversely, the processor may not select other impactdampening pads, positioned in locations besides the trunk, becausedeploying them would not protect/reduce the risk of damage to the glassobject. In some embodiments, the subset of article protection componentsmay be selected from amongst a plurality of different types of articleprotection components. In the glass object scenario described above, forexample, the processor may select and deploy impact dampening padsand/or a restraint device, and not select or deploy other devices thatare configured to control temperature, light exposure, and/or otherfactors that would not have a significant effect on protecting a glassobject.

Once the processor has selected the subset of the plurality of articleprotection components, the processor deploys the selected subset of theplurality of article protection components to be in an activate statethat protects/reduces the risk of damage to the one or moretransportable article (block 435A). In some embodiments, the selectedsubset of the plurality of article protection components may be storedas data in a data storage unit (e.g., the article protection componentdata storage 236 of FIG. 1B). For example, in an embodiment in which thetransportable article includes packages of ice cream and the articleprotection component of a temperature control device has been selected,after the packages of ice cream are analyzed and detected, the processormay cause the temperature control apparatus to adjust the temperature ofthe interior space of the vehicle, or a section of the interior of thevehicle that is storing the packages of ice cream, in order to keep thepackages of ice cream frozen and to prevent the ice cream from melting.Similarly, for example, additional article protection components, suchas a restraint device, may be selected and deployed to secure thepackages of ice cream and prevent the packages of ice cream frommoving/tipping over/spilling while being transported in the vehicle. Insome embodiments, the vehicle may begin/resume operation before, during,and/or after the article protection component(s) have been deployed.

In some embodiments of the method 400A, information received, generated,calculated, detected, and/or determined during the method 400A may bestored for future use (block 470A). Stored information may include, butis not limited to, the, transportable article data collected at block410A, the characteristic and/or traits of the transportable articledetermined at block 420A, the subset of the plurality of articleprotection components selected at block 430A, and/or the subset of theplurality of article protection components deployed at block 435A.Storing this information for future use may improve the accuracy and/orspeed of analyzing transportable article data, determining one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of one or more transportable articles,training machine learning models which may be used for determining oneor more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of one or more transportablearticles, determining which article protection component(s) to select,determining which article protection component(s) to deploy, and/ordetermining a manner in which to deploy the selected article protectioncomponent(s). The recorded information may be stored locally in thevehicle computer and/or may be transmitted to a third party machine(e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed to participate in a programinvolving data collection/sharing). In some embodiments, recordedinformation may be used for generating, adjusting, evaluating,investigating, analyzing, or prospecting insurance coverage, parametersof the insurance policy (e.g., a deductible), a premium, a rate, adiscount, and/or a reward for the specific driver, passenger, or theinsured individual.

FIG. 4B illustrates a method 400B in which an article protectioncomponent is adjusted based on the based an emergency condition. Blocks410B, 420B, 430B, 435B, and 470B may be performed in the same manner asblocks 410A, 420A, 430A, 435A, and 470A, respectively, of the method400A as described with reference to FIG. 4A, for example. Moreover,blocks 440B and 450B may be performed in the same manner as blocks 340Aand 350A, respectively, of the method 300A as described with referenceto FIG. 3A, for example. As described above with reference to FIG. 3A,external environment data and/or interior vehicle environment data maybe acquired (block 440B) and analyzed to determine whether an emergencycondition exits (450B).

When an emergency condition is not detected at block 450B, the methodreturns to block 440B to collect more driving environment data and/orinterior vehicle environment data, respectively, and repeats the method400B as described above (e.g., on a periodic basis). However, when theemergency condition is detected, the method proceeds to block 460A.

In response to detecting the emergency condition, an actuator program,stored in an actuator program memory (for example the actuator programmemory 232 of FIG. 1B), may be executed to cause one or more actuatorcomponents (such as the APC actuator components 135.1-135.3 of FIG. 1C)to adjust/modify the subset of the plurality of article protectioncomponent(s) (such as the article protection component 165.1-165.3 ofFIG. 1C) (block 460A). In some embodiments, adjusting/modifying thestate of the subset of the plurality of article protection components isintended to reduce the risk of injury to and/or protect the vehicleoccupant(s). In some embodiments, the actuator program determines whichof the subset of the article protection components to adjust/modifybased on data stored in a data storage unit (e.g., the articleprotection component configuration data storage 234 of FIG. 1B) at block430B. For example, in an embodiment in which the emergency condition isa steep downward sloping road on which the vehicle is traveling, the oneor more transportable articles is a glass object, and the subset of theplurality of article protection components is a strut restraint system,the processor may cause the one or more actuator components to adjust aphysical configuration of the strut restraint system to prevent theglass object from moving, tipping, sliding, etc. as a result of thevehicle traveling on the steep downward sloping road. In anotherexample, in which the emergency condition is a substantial change in thetemperature external to the vehicle (e.g., an increase from 70-degreesFahrenheit to 110-degrees Fahrenheit), the one or more transportablearticles is packages of ice cream, and the subset of article protectioncomponents is a temperature control device, in response to the processordetecting the change in temperature, the processor may cause an actuatorcomponent to adjust/modify the state of the temperature control device(e.g., decrease the temperature in the interior space of the vehicle) inorder to keep the ice cream frozen.

FIG. 4C illustrates a method 400C in which the vehicle operationcontroller (e.g., the vehicle operation controller 150 of FIG. 1C)modifies the manner in which the vehicle takes a specific action basedon one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of one or moretransportable articles. Blocks 410C, 420C, 430C, 435C, and 470C may beperformed in the same manner as blocks 410A, 420A, 430A, 435A, and 470A,respectively, of the method 400A as described with reference to FIG. 4A,for example.

However, block 465C may differ from the blocks of the method 400A. Inresponse to determining the one or more characteristic(s) and/ortrait(s) of the one or more transportable articles at block 430C, theprocessor may cause a vehicle operation controller (e.g., the vehicleoperation controller 150 of FIG. 1C) to modify the manner in which thevehicle operates (block 465C). To modify the manner in which the vehicleoperates, the processor may cause the vehicle operation controller togenerate and transmit vehicle control data, indicative of a drivingdecision, to operate the vehicle or one of its subsystems. In someembodiments, in response to determining the one or more characteristicsand/or traits of the one or more transportable articles, the processormay cause the vehicle operation controller to cause the vehicle to takea specific action. For example, in an embodiment in which the processordetermines the vehicle is transporting transplant organs that need to bedelivered to a hospital immediately, the processor may cause the vehicleoperation controller to cause the vehicle to accelerate and/or operatein a manner that will prioritize speed over ride comfort whentransporting the organs to the hospital.

In some embodiments, in response to determining the one or morecharacteristic(s) and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportablearticles, the processor may cause the vehicle operation controller toprevent/restrict the vehicle from taking a specific action. For example,in an embodiment in which the processor determines the vehicle istransporting glassware (the transportable article), the processor maycause the vehicle operation controller to restrict the vehicle fromexceeding a certain positive or negative acceleration and/or making asharp turn in order to protect/reduce the risk of damage to theglassware.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the manner in whichthe vehicle operates may be modified at any point in the method 400Cafter the processor has determined the one or more characteristic(s)and/or trait(s) of the one or more transportable articles. In someembodiments, the subset of article protection components may be selectedand/or deployed before, during, and/or after the vehicle operationcontroller has modified the manner in which the vehicle takes action.For example, in an embodiment in which the one or more transportablearticles is a glass object and the one or more article protectioncomponents is an impact dampening pad, in response to the processordetermining that the transportable article is glass, the vehicleoperation controller may reduce the speed of the vehicle, to reduce therisk of damage to the glass object, before an actuator component deploysthe impact dampening pad.

Dynamic Limiting of Vehicle Operation Based on Interior Configuration

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 in which a vehicle operation controller(e.g., the vehicle operation controller 150 of FIGS. 1A and 1C) modifiesthe manner in which a vehicle takes a specific action based on aphysical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle (e.g., thevehicle 102 of FIGS. 1A and 1C). The method 500 may be implemented asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1A, 1B, or 1C, for example.Accordingly, the method 500 may be partially or completely implementedon the vehicle computer 200.

In the method 500, interior vehicle configuration data(representing/indicative of the interior space of the vehicle) isacquired (block 510). Interior vehicle configuration data may becollected, generated, and/or received using a data collection component(e.g., the interior data collection component 120 of FIGS. 1A and 1C).Once collected, the interior vehicle configuration data may be storedlocally within the vehicle, for example in a data storage unit (e.g.,the interior vehicle configuration data storage 242 of the vehiclecomputer 200 of FIG. 1B), and possibly also transmitted remotely to athird party device, machine, server, network, and/or database (e.g., ifa driver has expressly agreed to participate in a program involving datacollection/sharing). In some embodiments, the third party device,machine, server, network, and/or database may be associated with oroperated by or on behalf of an insurance provider. The third partydevice, machine, server, network, and/or database may be configured toreceive, collect, and/or analyze driving environment data and/or otherdata in accordance with any of the methods described herein.

In some embodiments, vehicle occupant data, corresponding to a vehicleoccupant status of one or more occupants riding in the vehicle 102, maybe acquired at block 510. In some embodiments, the vehicle occupant datamay correspond to a location, orientation, action, one or morecharacteristic(s), and/or one or more trait(s) of the one or morevehicle occupants. For example, vehicle occupant data may indicate thetype of occupant (e.g., adult human, child human, trained dog, untraineddog, horse, reptile, etc.), size of the occupant (e.g., height, weight,etc.), whether the occupant is wearing some type of article (e.g.,glasses, a brace, leash, etc.), and/or whether the occupant has amedical condition/disability (e.g., missing limbs, asthma, heartcondition, bad back, etc.). The vehicle occupant data may be collected,generated, and/or received using a data collection component (e.g., theinterior data collection component 120 of FIGS. 1A and 1C). The vehicleoccupant data may be stored locally within the vehicle within a datastorage unit (e.g., the vehicle occupant data storage 238 of the vehiclecomputer 200 of FIG. 1B), and possibly also transmitted remotely to athird party device, machine, server, network, and/or database (e.g., ifa driver has expressly agreed to participate in a program involving datacollection/sharing). It should be appreciated that in some embodimentsof the method 500, vehicle occupant data may be utilized in a similarmanner as and/or for similar purposes as the interior configurationdata.

An interior vehicle configuration is determined by analyzing (e.g., viathe processor 202 of the vehicle computer 200 of FIG. 1A) the collectedinterior vehicle configuration data (block 520). In some embodiments,the interior vehicle configuration data may be analyzed in real-time todetermine a physical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle,the presence of one or more occupants (e.g., human passengers, non-humananimals, etc.) in the vehicle, a location and/or orientation of the oneor more vehicle occupants, one or more characteristic(s) and/or trait(s)of the one or more vehicle occupants, and/or an action/behavior of theone or more vehicle occupants. In one embodiment, the data may beanalyzed by comparing acquired interior vehicle configuration data withpreviously collected interior vehicle configuration data correspondingto a previous status/physical configuration/condition of the interiorspace of the vehicle. In some embodiments, previously collected interiorvehicle configuration data may correspond to an unoccupied/emptyinterior space of the vehicle. In some embodiments, interior vehicleconfiguration data may be analyzed to determine a physical configurationof an interior vehicle component (e.g., a passenger seat, storageconsole, drink holder, desk, etc.), the location and/or orientation ofthe one or more vehicle occupants relative to the interior vehiclecomponent, and/or an action/behavior of the one or more vehicleoccupants relative to the interior vehicle component. For example, in anembodiment in which the interior vehicle component is a passenger seat,the interior vehicle configuration data may be analyzed to determinewhere the passenger seat is located within the vehicle; whether avehicle occupant is seated in the passenger seat; the physicalconfiguration about a yaw angle in which the passenger seat is oriented;the physical configuration about a roll angle in which the passengerseat is tilted; an action/behavior of the vehicle occupant using thepassenger seat (e.g., sleeping, reading, eating, using an electronicdevice, exercising, etc.); and/or the proximity of other interiorvehicle components (e.g., other passenger seats, storage consoles,etc.), vehicle occupants (human passengers and/or non-human animals),and/or one or more transportable articles to the passenger seat. In someembodiments, interior vehicle configuration data may be analyzed todetermine the one or more vehicle occupants' actions/behavior, orintended/expected actions/behavior, within vehicle. For example, aspecific physical configuration of the interior space of the vehicle maycorrespond to the one or more vehicle occupants sleeping, eating,exercising, working, or engaging in another action/behavior within theinterior space of the vehicle.

In embodiments in which vehicle occupant data is collected, vehicleoccupant data may be analyzed to determine a vehicle occupant status. Insome embodiments, the vehicle occupant status may be one or more vehicleoccupants sitting, sleeping, eating, working, reading, using a bathroomin the vehicle, and/or experiencing a medical emergency while in thevehicle.

In some embodiments, the interior vehicle configuration and/or vehicleoccupant status may be determined by comparing the interior vehicleconfiguration data, with a maximum or minimum criteria/threshold that isindicative of the point at which a particular interior vehicleconfiguration condition (e.g., presence of a vehicle occupant) isdetected. In some embodiments, the criteria/threshold indicative of thepoint at which an interior vehicle configuration is detected may bestored in a data storage unit (e.g., the interior vehicle configurationdetection criteria data storage 246 of FIG. 1B). Once determined, thedata corresponding to the physical configuration of the interior spaceof the vehicle, such as the location, orientation, one or morecharacteristic(s), one or more trait(s), actions, and/or behaviors ofthe one or more vehicle occupants, may be stored locally within thevehicle (e.g., in the interior vehicle configuration data storage 242 orthe vehicle occupant data storage 238 of FIG. 1B), and possibly alsotransmitted remotely to a third party device, machine, server, network,and/or database (e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed to participatein a program involving data collection/sharing). In some embodiments,the third party device, machine, server, network, and/or database may beassociated with or operated by or on behalf of an insurance provider. Insome embodiments, the data corresponding to the determined physicalconfiguration of the interior space of the vehicle may be used toadjust, generate, and/or update an insurance policy, premium, rate,discount, and/or reward for the specific driver, passenger, and/or theinsured individual.

The interior vehicle configuration data may also be analyzed to predictthe likelihood of a future action/behavior of the one or more vehicleoccupants. For example, the processor may anticipate/predict when one ormore vehicle occupants may be asleep in the vehicle, in furtherance ofdetermining an action of the one or more vehicle occupants, by analyzingdata corresponding to the time of day, the location and/or orientationof the one or more vehicle occupants, the physical configuration of theone or more vehicle occupants in an interior vehicle component (e.g.,reclining in a passenger seat), and/or past interior vehicleconfiguration data. In determining whether a vehicle occupant issleeping, for example, the method may also compare the received interiorvehicle configuration data and/or vehicle occupant data with previouslycollected data covering the same time, same vehicle occupant, and/orsame location and/or orientation of the vehicle occupant. Accordingly,analyzing this data may help the processor determine the likelihood ofthe vehicle occupant status and/or determine more readily when thevehicle occupant status exists.

In response to determining the interior vehicle configuration and/orvehicle occupant status at block 520, the processor may cause a vehicleoperation controller (e.g., the vehicle operation controller 150 ofFIGS. 1A and 1C) to modify the manner in which the vehicle operates(block 530). To modify the manner in which the vehicle operates, theprocessor may cause the vehicle operation controller to generate andtransmit vehicle control data, indicative of a driving decision, tooperate the vehicle or one of its subsystems. In some embodiments, inresponse to determining the location, orientation, characteristics,traits, actions, and/or behaviors the one or more vehicle occupants, theprocessor may cause the vehicle operation controller to cause thevehicle to take a specific action. It should be understood that avehicle “action” may comprise a single maneuver (e.g. accelerating,braking, turning the steering wheel, etc.), a combination of maneuvers(e.g. changing lanes—which entails a combination of changing speeds andturning, or changing lanes and then pulling onto a shoulder, etc.), anoperational state (e.g. a speed of the vehicle, applying the brakes,etc.), or a change in operational state. For example, in an embodimentin which the processor determines a vehicle occupant is sleeping, theprocessor may cause the vehicle operation controller to cause thevehicle to decelerate and/or operate in a manner that will prioritizeride comfort over speed when transporting the vehicle occupant.

In some embodiments, in response to determining the interior vehicleconfiguration and/or vehicle occupant status, the processor may causethe vehicle operation controller to prevent/restrict the vehicle fromtaking a specific action. For example, in an embodiment in which theprocessor determines a vehicle occupant is eating, the processor maycause the vehicle operation controller to restrict the vehicle fromexceeding a certain positive or negative acceleration and/or making asharp turn in order to protect/reduce the risk of the vehicle occupantfrom choking.

In some embodiments, the vehicle occupant data, described above may beused in determining a specific vehicle action to take and/orprevent/restrict. For example, in an embodiment in which a vehicleoccupant has a back condition, causing the vehicle to accelerate, take asharp turn, or stop frequently may cause the vehicle occupant toexperience discomfort and/or may further aggravate the back condition.Accordingly, the vehicle operation controller may cause the vehicle totake a specific route to avoid having to take sharp turns or makefrequent stop.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the manner in whichthe vehicle operates may be modified at any point in the method 500after the processor has determined the interior vehicle configurationand/or the vehicle occupant status. In some embodiments, the interiordata collection component may continue to collect interior vehicle data(e.g., vehicle occupant data) after the vehicle operation controller hasmodified the manner in which the vehicle takes action, and the processormay cause the vehicle operation controller to generate and transmitvehicle control data, indicative of a different driving decision, tooperate the vehicle or one of its subsystems in response to detecting achange in the interior vehicle configuration data (e.g., a change in thelocation, orientation, characteristic(s), trait(s), action, and/orbehavior of the one or more vehicle occupants). For example, in anembodiment in which the vehicle is driving at a reduced speed becausethe processor had previously determined a vehicle occupant was sleeping,the vehicle controller may increase the speed of the vehicle in responseto the processor determining the vehicle occupant has woken up. Inanother example, in which the interior vehicle component is a passengerseat, the vehicle controller may adjust the speed of the vehicle inresponse to the processor determining the vehicle occupant has adjustedthe physical configuration of the passenger seat from an upwardconfiguration to a reclined configuration.

In some embodiments of the method 500, information received, generated,calculated, detected, and/or determined during the method 500 may bestored for future use (block 540). Stored information may include, butis not limited to, the, interior vehicle configuration data collected atblock 510, vehicle occupant data collected at block 510, the interiorvehicle configuration and/or a vehicle occupant status determined atblock 520, the specific vehicle action taken at block 530, the vehicleaction prevented/restricted at block 530, and/or any other vehicleoperation data generated/transmitted at block 530. Storing thisinformation for future use may improve the accuracy and/or speed ofanalyzing interior vehicle configuration data; determining a physicalconfiguration of the interior space of the vehicle; determining alocation, orientation, characteristic(s), trait(s), action(s), and/orbehavior(s) of the one or more vehicle occupants; training machinelearning models which may be used for determining a location,orientation, characteristic(s), trait(s), action(s), and/or behavior(s)of the one or more vehicle occupants; determining a specific vehicleaction to take; and/or determining a specific vehicle action toprevent/restrict. The recorded information may be stored locally in thevehicle computer and/or may be transmitted to a third party machine(e.g., if a driver has expressly agreed to participate in a programinvolving data collection/sharing). In some embodiments, recordedinformation may be used for generating, adjusting, evaluating,investigating, analyzing, or prospecting insurance coverage, parametersof the insurance policy (e.g., a deductible), a premium, a rate, adiscount, and/or a reward for the specific driver, passenger, or theinsured individual.

In some embodiments, multiple interior vehicle components are adjustedin response to the processor detecting an emergency condition and/orspecific action. In some embodiments the adjusted interior vehiclecomponents are different types of elements. For example, in oneembodiment, in response to detecting an emergency condition such as animpending collision, the processor may cause a first actuator componentto deploy an airbag and cause a second actuator component to deploy arestraint device in anticipation of the collision.

For scenarios in which multiple vehicle occupants are traveling in thevehicle, it should be appreciated that each vehicle occupant may havehis/her own dedicated vehicle safety component. It should also beappreciated that each vehicle safety component may be adjusted/deployed,or have its movement restricted, in the same, substantially similar, ordifferent manner as other vehicle safety components of like kind.Further, the processor may take into account the existence of othervehicle occupants, interior vehicle components, and/or transportablearticles in the vehicle when determining which of the one or morevehicle safety components to select to be active and/or deploy.

In some embodiments, the emergency condition and/or specific vehicleaction may be detected using machine learning techniques, such ascognitive learning, deep learning, combined learning, heuristic enginesand algorithms, and/or pattern recognition techniques. For example, theprocessor 202 may be trained using supervised or unsupervised machinelearning, and the machine learning program may employ a neural network,which may be a convolutional neural network, a deep learning neuralnetwork, or a combined learning module or program that learns in two ormore fields or areas of interest. Machine learning may involveidentifying and recognizing patterns in existing data in order tofacilitate making predictions for subsequent data. Models may be createdbased upon example inputs in order to make valid and reliablepredictions for novel inputs.

In some embodiments, machine learning techniques may also, or instead,be utilized to determine when the existence of an emergency conditionand/or specific vehicle action is sufficiently hazardous to warrantdeploying the selected subset of the plurality of vehicle safetycomponents and/or adjusting the subset of the one or more articleprotection components. In such embodiments, the driving environment dataand/or vehicle operation data may be considered in combination with eachother and/or interior vehicle configuration data to evaluate whether therisk warrants deploying the selected subset of the plurality of vehiclesafety components, adjusting the subset of the one or more articleprotection components, and/or modifying the manner in which the vehicleoperates.

Additionally or alternatively, the machine learning programs may betrained by inputting sample data sets or certain data into the programs,such as image, mobile device, insurer database, and/or third-partydatabase data. The machine learning programs may utilize deep learningalgorithms that may be primarily focused on pattern recognition, and maybe trained after processing multiple examples. The machine learningprograms may include Bayesian program learning (BPL), voice recognitionand synthesis, image or object recognition, optical characterrecognition, and/or natural language processing—either individually orin combination. The machine learning programs may also include naturallanguage processing, semantic analysis, automatic reasoning, and/ormachine learning.

In supervised machine learning, a processing element may be providedwith example inputs and their associated outputs, and may seek todiscover a general rule that maps inputs to outputs, so that whensubsequent novel inputs are provided the processing element may, basedupon the discovered rule, accurately predict the correct output. Inunsupervised machine learning, the processing element may be required tofind its own structure in unlabeled example inputs. In one embodiment,machine learning techniques may be used to extract the relevant data forone or more user device details, user request or login details, userdevice sensors, geolocation information, image data, the insurerdatabase, a third-party database, and/or other data.

In one embodiment, a processor (and/or machine learning or heuristicengine or algorithm discussed herein) may be trained by providing itwith a large sample of images and/or user data with knowncharacteristics or features, such as historical vehicle data and/or pastauto claim data. Based upon these analyses, the processing element maylearn how to identify characteristics and patterns that may then beapplied to analyzing user device details, user vehicle details, userdevice sensors, geolocation information, image data, the insurerdatabase, a third-party database, and/or other data. For example, theprocessing element may learn, with the user's permission or affirmativeconsent, to identify the user and/or insured vehicles, and/or learn toidentify insured vehicles characteristics. The processing element mayalso predict which vehicles are more prone to be classified as a totalloss in the event of a vehicle collision, such as by vehiclecharacteristics determined from vehicle or other data.

The processing element and/or machine learning algorithm may determinehistorical storage, rental, or salvage time and/or costs typicallyexpected with various types of vehicles or with vehicles having specificcharacteristics (such as make, model, mileage, age, etc.)—such as byanalysis of scrubbed or depersonalized historical or past auto claimdata. As such, a total loss may be predicted when a given vehicle isinvolved in a vehicle collision, and if so, the total loss cycle timemay be reduced, and inconvenience to the insured may be reduced.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“detecting,” “presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer toactions or processes of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates ortransforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, oroptical) quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still cooperate or interact witheach other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it isobvious that it is meant otherwise.

Although the preceding text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forthat the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construedas example only and does not describe every possible embodiment, asdescribing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if notimpossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, usingeither current technology or technology developed after the filing dateof this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based upon any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, the patent claims at theend of this patent application are not intended to be construed under 35U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditional means-plus-function language isexpressly recited, such as “means for” or “step for” language beingexplicitly recited in the claim(s).

The systems and methods described herein are directed to an improvementto computer functionality, and improve the functioning of conventionalcomputers.

What is claimed:
 1. A system for controlling operation of a vehicle, thesystem comprising: one or more data collection components configured tocollect data representative of a physical configuration of an interiorvehicle component; and one or more processors configured to access thecollected data, determine, by processing the collected data, thephysical configuration of the interior vehicle component relative to aninterior space of the vehicle, change a manner of operation of a vehiclein response to the one or more processors determining the physicalconfiguration of the interior vehicle component relative to the interiorspace of the vehicle, and cause the vehicle to operate according to themanner of operation.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the physicalconfiguration of the interior vehicle component is relative to aninterior space of the vehicle.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theinterior vehicle component is a seating apparatus or a sleepingapparatus.
 4. The system of claim 1: wherein the one or more datacollection components comprise one or more first data collectioncomponents; further comprising one or more second data collectioncomponents are configured to collect vehicle occupant data correspondingto one or more vehicle occupants; and wherein the one or more processorsare configured to determine, by processing the vehicle occupant data, avehicle occupant status, and change the manner of operation basedadditionally on the vehicle occupant status.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the vehicle occupant status represents a vehicle occupant atleast one of sitting, sleeping, eating, working, exercising, reading,using a bathroom, or experiencing a medical emergency.
 6. The system ofclaim 4, wherein the vehicle occupant data is representative of at leastone of a location, an orientation, an action, a characteristic, or atrait of the one or more vehicle occupants.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are configured to, in response todetermining the physical configuration of the interior vehiclecomponent, cause the vehicle to at least one of accelerate, decelerate,turn, brake, change lanes, merge or move in reverse.
 8. A method forcontrolling operation of a vehicle, the method comprising: accessing, byone or more processors, data that is representative of a physicalconfiguration of an interior vehicle component of a vehicle;determining, by processing the data using the one or more processors,the physical configuration of the interior vehicle component relative toan interior space of the vehicle; changing, by the one or moreprocessors, a manner of operation for the vehicle in response to the oneor more processors determining the physical configuration of theinterior vehicle component; and causing the vehicle to operate accordingto the changed manner of operation.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe interior vehicle component is a seating apparatus or a sleepingapparatus.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: accessing, bythe one or more processors, vehicle occupant data that relates to one ormore vehicle occupants; detecting, by processing the vehicle occupantdata by the one or more processors, a vehicle occupant status; andchanging the manner of operation based additionally on the vehicleoccupant status.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the vehicleoccupant status represents a vehicle occupant at least one of sitting,sleeping, eating, working, exercising, reading, using a bathroom, orexperiencing a medical emergency.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe vehicle occupant data is indicative of at least one of a location,an orientation, an action, a characteristic, or a trait of the one ormore vehicle occupants.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising,in response to determining the physical configuration of the interiorvehicle component, causing the vehicle to at least one of accelerate,decelerate, turn, brake, change lanes, merge or move in reverse.
 14. Asystem for controlling operation of a vehicle, the system comprising:one or more data collection components configured to collect datarepresentative of a physical configuration of an interior vehiclecomponent; and one or more processors configured to access the collecteddata, determine, by processing the collected data, the physicalconfiguration of the interior vehicle component relative to an interiorspace of the vehicle, and in response to the one or more processorsdetecting the physical configuration, restrict the vehicle from taking aspecific action.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the physicalconfiguration of the interior vehicle component is relative to aninterior space of the vehicle.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein theinterior vehicle component is a seating apparatus or a sleepingapparatus.
 17. The system of claim 14: wherein the one or more datacollection components comprise one or more first data collectioncomponents; further comprising one or more second interior datacollection components configured to collect vehicle occupant datacorresponding to one or more vehicle occupants; and wherein the one ormore processors are configured to detect, by processing the vehicleoccupant data, a vehicle occupant status, and in response to detectingthe vehicle occupant status and detecting the physical configuration,cause the vehicle operation controller to restrict the vehicle fromtaking the specific action.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thevehicle occupant status is a vehicle occupant at least one of sitting,sleeping, eating, working, exercising, reading, using a bathroom, orexperiencing a medical emergency.
 19. The system of claim 17, whereinthe vehicle occupant data is indicative of at least one of a location,an orientation, an action, a characteristic, or a trait of the one ormore vehicle occupants.
 20. The system of claim 14, wherein restrictingthe vehicle from taking the specific action includes restricting thevehicle from accelerating more than a threshold amount, deceleratingmore than a threshold amount, generating more than a threshold amount ofG-forces, changing lanes, exceeding a threshold speed, and/or driving ona specific road.